Sri Lanka records US$ 1.8 billion earnings from tourism in the first half of 2019
Sri Lanka has reportedly managed to record earnings amounting to US$ 1.8 billion from the tourism sector in the first half of this year despite suffering a setback following the Easter Sunday attacks in April this year.
The tourism sector has recorded earnings of US$ 2.1 billion in the same period the previous year.
Tourist arrivals have gradually recovered in June from the impact of the Easter Sunday attacks, the Daily FT has reported.
Accordingly, tourist arrivals have increased by 66.8% to 63,072 in June in comparison to 37,802 in May. However, tourist arrivals in June registered a year-on-year decline of 57%.
The report has stated that the drop in tourist arrivals was mainly due to the decline in the number of tourists from key destinations such as India, China, the UK and Australia in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks.
The decline in arrivals from India and China had accounted for 41.6% of the total decline in June.
Earnings from tourism were estimated at US$ 118 million in June, in comparison to US$ 276 million in June 2018, the report states.
On a cumulative basis, earnings from tourism were estimated at US$ 1,893 million during the first six months of 2019 compared to US$ 2,186 million during the corresponding period of 2018, the report has further stated.
Meanwhile, workers’ remittances have reportedly grown by 2.5%, year-on-year, to US$ 537 million in June. However, on a cumulative basis, workers’ remittances have recorded a decline of 9.8% reaching US$ 3,270 million during the first half of 2019 in comparison to the corresponding period of 2018.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tourism sector has shown an impressive return to normalcy following the setback suffered in the aftermath o f the Easter Sunday attacks in April. Several visits by foreign dignitaries to Sri Lanka and the resumption of flights to the country by several international airlines helped build confidence on the safety of the island. Sri Lanka’s tourism authorities also took many measures to revitalize the tourism sector by conducting global promotional activities while also offering attractive packages/deals to foreign visitors to the country. Sri Lanka also maintains the top slot in the list of destination of the year in several key global travel publications. All this has resulted in an increase in tourist arrivals to the country since the month of June. It has also resulted in the inflow of foreign investments into the tourism sector as well. The revival of Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has expanded business/investment opportunities in the country’s tourism sector.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/22082019/Z_5 |