Sri Lanka’s tourism earnings soar to nearly $ 1.5 billion by end of 3Q
Daily FT: Sri Lanka’s tourism sector has surged ahead in 2023, with earnings totaling nearly $ 1.5 billion in the first nine months of the year, alongside a notable influx of over 1.01 million visitors.
The latest data from the Central Bank reveals that tourism earnings in the third quarter of 2023 were over $ 1.45 billion, reflecting a staggering 67% surge from the corresponding period of last year.
September earnings stood at $ 152.2 million but witnessed a 28% dip from August. This dip is attributed to September falling short of its monthly arrivals target.
In a month-to-month comparison, both August and September fell short of their monthly arrivals target, despite July surpassing projections and generating a remarkable income. This $ 219 million makes July the highest monthly earnings of 2023 thus far.
Separately, a faction of the industry contends the data highlights a pronounced decline in earnings since the announcement of the minimum room rate (MRR) in June, signaling the impact of this policy shift on the industry’s revenue streams.
“The dip in earnings unequivocally indicates that the enforcement of MRR has had a substantial impact on the industry as a whole. This demonstrates that visitors were quite sensitive to the price hike introduced to the city hotels and has impacted the high earning segments like MICE tourism,” they argued.
Despite enduring significant challenges following the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019, Sri Lanka’s tourism sector has not only weathered the storms but emerged more robust. This resurgence is vividly reflected in the surge of arrivals, which reached an impressive 1.01 million in the first nine months of 2023, a stark contrast to the crisis-ridden figure of 29,802 in 2022. However, when benchmarked against the pivotal year of 2018, the industry still grapples with a 25% deficit.
Analysts view this upward trend in arrivals as a promising sign for an industry that has navigated a series of hurdles over the past three years. With cautious optimism, Sri Lanka Tourism is intensifying efforts to further stimulate the sector, to regain pre-crisis levels of activity in the coming years.
Sri Lanka Tourism’s anticipation is running high for the winter season, as the sector sets ambitious targets of welcoming 1.55 million visitors and generating over $ 3 billion in income by year-end. “Achieving these milestones would mark a significant triumph in the industry’s path to recovery,” analysts said.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has once again become one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the country after facing challenges posed by the global pandemic and the economic crisis that followed. The steady growth in tourist arrivals to the country and the increase in earnings have opened a host of new business/investment opportunities in the tourism industry, especially in the leisure and hospitality sectors. The growing opportunities in the tourism industry is evident by the interest shown by international leisure and hospitality brands to enter Sri Lanka. The growing business potential in the tourism industry has also compelled many local businesses in the tourism industry to engage in refurbishment or expansion programmers to improve facilities to meet the growing demand. Also, with Sri Lankan authorities constantly looking out for new tourism concepts to be promoted, there’s a continuous growth in business/investment opportunities in the country’s tourism industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20231016/Z_6 |