More accurate and internationally comparable tourism earning figures from mid-2024: SLTDA

Priyantha Fernando

By Nishel Fernando 
The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) plans to produce more accurate and internationally comparable tourism earning figures from mid-2024 onwards, as it moves into the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA).
“The Tourism Satellite Project was launched one and a half months ago, with the assistance of the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation), based on the 2018 airport entry and exit surveys that were carried out. However, we will be carrying out new surveys, commencing almost immediately (end-January or February). That information will be taken for the next satellite account,” SLTDA Chairman Priyantha Fernando told Mirror Business. 

The TSA is the globally accepted standard statistical framework and the main tool for the economic measurement of tourism, developed by the UNWTO, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Statistical Office of the European Communities and United Nations Statistics Division. 

Under the TSA, Fernando outlined that the SLTDA would be able to produce more accurate and precise tourism earning figures from mid-2024, while likely revising the figures for the early half of the year.
“The survey process will take about at least four to five months because we are looking at a sample of about 40,000 visitors. The latest data on expenditure will be based on that. With the satellite account coming into operations, we will have more accurate and precise figures. It will be updated on a regular basis. By mid-this year, we will have more accurate figures coming through the survey,” he elaborated.

He acknowledged possible inaccuracies in the current method of calculating tourism earnings, in particular due to the calculations relying on certain assumptions based on the data collected in 2018. “… the calculations are done based on the figures collected in 2018. So, we cannot assure that the figures are 100 percent perfect. Even the Central Bank goes by the same figures,” he added. 
According to the SLTDA, Sri Lanka’s tourism earnings jumped by 82 percent year-on-year (YoY) to US $ 2,068 million in 2023; the arrivals rose 106.6 percent YoY to 1.4 million visitors during the year. With Sri Lanka’s tourism authorities gearing up number promotion activities, including the much-awaited global promotion campaign, Fernando shared that the average daily tourist expenditure is expected to increase to US $ 200, from US $ 180-185 recorded during last year. With the TSA coming into operations, the government would be better equipped to make informed policy decisions and to direct resources in the right direction. 
In particular, the TSA would make it possible for authorities and industry stakeholders to analyse the data from competing destinations to ensure competitiveness in their product offerings, urging them to innovate and develop niche products accordingly.