Sri Lanka’s tourism earnings up 82% YoY to over $ 2 billion in 2023
Daily FT: Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has registered a robust upturn, surpassing over $ 2 billion in earnings, accompanied by the arrival of over 1.48 million visitors in 2023.
The tourism industry’s 2023 performance marks a significant milestone by registering the highest revenue and influx of visitors to Sri Lanka since 2019.
The latest data from the Central Bank reveals an impressive 82% surge in tourism earnings compared to the previous year.
In December 2023, earnings reached $ 269.3 million, witnessing a substantial 111.4% year-on-year (YoY) increase. Despite falling short of the monthly arrivals target, December secured the highest monthly earnings and arrivals during 2023.
Initially projecting to attract 1.55 million tourists and $ 3 billion in earnings, Sri Lanka Tourism revised the target to 2 million amid a surge in arrivals in July.
However, figures were later reviewed back to the original target, with earnings projection adjusted to $ 2.7 billion.
Although 2023 fell short of set targets for both arrivals and earnings by 4.5% and 24%, respectively, the industry exhibited a robust comeback after a three-year hiatus marked by setbacks such as the Easter Sunday terror attacks in 2019, the COVID pandemic in 2020-2021 and the political turmoil and economic crisis in 2022.
Looking ahead to 2024, Sri Lanka Tourism has set ambitious targets, aiming to welcome 2.5 million tourists and earn $ 4.6 billion. Furthermore, the long-term strategy envisions increasing arrivals to 5 million and generating an impressive $ 21.6 billion within five years.
As part of this strategy, the focus is on welcoming high-end tourists, with plans to lift the average spending per visitor to $ 4,000. The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) aims for 2.5 million visitors to spend over $ 500 per day, emphasizing a concentration on attracting high-spending repeat visitors, which currently account for around 33-35% of tourists.
Sri Lanka’s tourism, which experienced its highest growth of 46.1% in 2010 after the end of a 30-year conflict, faced downward trends in subsequent years. However, the positive growth of 26.7% in 2013 marked a turning point after a decade-long descending trend.
With positivity, the industry looks forward with optimism, fuelled by the recent success and ambitious targets set for the coming years.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s earnings from the tourism industry indicates that it is one of the key revenue generators of the country. Given the steady growth in the industry recorded last year, tourism authorities anticipate a further growth this year with the first few weeks of 2024 showing high numbers of tourist arrivals to the country when compared to the same period last year. With the continuous promotional campaigns carried out by local authorities in key tourist source markets and Sri Lanka being identified as a must visit tourist destination by the international media, the tourism industry shows all signs of achieving the growth and revenue targets set for this year. The expanding business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, especially in the leisure and hospitality sectors have already attracted many international leisure and hospitality brands to the country. Given the growth potential in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, foreign businesses/investors could explore the expanding opportunities in the industry while also looking at the many development programmes affiliated to the industry as well.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20240123/Z_7 |