Visa issues, election concerns cut SL’s 2024 tourist arrival target

By Nishel Fernando 

Sri Lanka is expected to attract around two million tourists this year, falling short of its initial target of 2.3 million by 11.6 percent, according to a report by Softlogic Stockbrokers (SSB). 

The shortfall is attributed to the recent visa processing issues that have hindered arrivals, along with concerns that the upcoming elections may further dampen the inflows.

Sri Lanka’s tourism authorities initially targeted 2.36 million arrivals for 2024 but the country has struggled to maintain momentum since mid-year, due to the visa-related disruptions. While the tourist arrivals in the first two months more than doubled year-on-year, with an increase of approximately 103 percent in both January and February, growth has since slowed. In September, the growth in tourist arrivals fell to single digits for the first time this year.

SSB has revised down its annual forecast to two million arrivals, citing the impact of visa issues and the potential for election-related uncertainty to affect the November numbers.

Sri Lanka received 63,491 tourists in the first half of October, reflecting a continuing slowdown ahead of the winter season, according to the data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. 

The daily average stood at 4,232 tourists in the first half of the month, slightly up from September’s 4,071 daily average. To meet the monthly target of 153,123 arrivals, the country would need to attract approximately 90,000 more tourists during the remainder of October.

As of October 15, the cumulative arrivals for 2024 reached 1,548,299. To achieve the initial target of 2.36 million, Sri Lanka would need to bring in over 815,000 tourists in the final two and a half months of the year, a figure that now seems unlikely.

India remains the top source market for Sri Lanka tourism in 2024.