Tourist arrivals miss 200,000 mark in April

A tourist buying lotus flowers from a road side vendor in the vicinity of the Gangarama Temple in Colombo 
Pic by Pradeep Pathirana

• Arrivals dip below 150,000

Sri Lanka tourism witnessed a drop in momentum in April with the number of international visitors falling below the 200,000 mark for the first time this year.
Tourist arrivals in April totalled 148, 867, provisional data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) showed. Although this is a 41 percent increase from the corresponding month of the previous year, it is a significant drop from the 209,181 tourist arrivals recorded in the previous month (March).

Since December 2023, Sri Lanka has been successful in attracting over 200,000 tourists every month, which was also the first time the milestone was reached since the Covid pandemic outbreak.
The momentum was maintained for four straight months, but in April a contraction was witnessed. The dip is not unusual given that April is also the start of the dull period before a pickup in July.

However, while a contraction was expected, tourism authorities last week attributed the steep drop to other factors as well. One such is the new visa system that came into effect from 17 April that has created quite a stir since it was rolled out, as it is more expensive, and not as convenient as the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) that was previously in place. 

Meanwhile, in the monthly tourist arrivals update, the SLTDA noted that the arrival numbers have been “updated” as per the new visa categories introduced by the Department of Immigration and Emigration.
The update shows an increase in the arrival numbers.
When Mirror Business reached out to SLTDA for clarity, its Chairman Priantha Fernado said he will be able to share a more clear idea today after obtaining clarification from the immigration authorities. 

“The source for us to obtain arrival data is Immigration. There seems to be some change that has been effected on the categorisation: Visiting Friends and Relatives, Business, MICE etc,” he said.
The top thee source markets for Sri Lanka tourism in April were India, Russian Federation, and the UK, which contributed 18 percent, 10 percent, and 9 percent of total tourist arrivals.