Tourism earnings reach US$ 2 bn for first time since pandemic

• Earnings from tourism expand 82% YoY
• Tourism sector generates US$ 269 mn in December

For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, earnings from tourism reached US$ 2 billion, provisional data from the Central Bank showed.
The tourism industry ended year 2023 on a high note, generating revenue of US$ 2,068 million with 1.48 million international visitors. However, the US$ 2.7 billion earnings target set by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) and Tourism Ministry was missed by about 23 percent.
However, when compared with 2022, revenue generated by the tourism sector has expanded by an impressive 82 percent Year-on-Year (YoY).
As per the data released by the Central Bank, the month of December generated an income of US$ 269 million. This is a 111 percent increase when compared with the US$ 127 million recorded in the corresponding month of the previous year.
In 2018, which is considered the best year for Sri Lanka tourism, earnings totalled US$ 4.4 billion.

In 2019, the earnings dropped to US$ 3.8 billion, due to the impacts arising from the Easter Sunday terrorist attack. In 2020, the year of the pandemic, earnings from tourism plunged to US$ 682 million. This further contracted to US$ 394 million in 2021, before increasing to US$ 1.13 million in 2022.