Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals top 1.8 million mark with November boost
Daily FT: Sri Lanka’s tourism sector achieved a key milestone, surpassing 1.8 million arrivals in the first 11 months, whilst November recorded the highest number of visitors since July 2024.
The country welcomed 184,158 tourists in November, marking a 22% year-on-year (YoY) growth. It also recorded the highest November arrivals in five years.
The monthly tally in November represents a 36% increase from October’s 135,907 arrivals, sustained by the resolution of the visa crisis that had dampened mid-year performance. The 218,350 tourists recorded in February remains as the highest monthly arrivals registered in 2024 thus far.
Although the November numbers signal continued recovery, it fell short by 13,911 visitors from the projected target of 198,069 for the month set by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) — extending a trend observed throughout 2024, where monthly targets were consistently missed.
It also fell short by 11,424 arrivals from the 195,582 recorded in November 2018.
As November propelled it to cross 1.8 million year-to-date (YTD) arrivals, edging closer to the revised 2024 target of 2 million visitors, the industry requires another 195,128 visitors within December. However, the YTD performance so far is still down by 23% when compared to the same period in the benchmark year of 2018.
The daily tourist arrivals averaged 6,139 — up from 5,050 during the same period a year ago and significantly higher than October’s 4,384 average.
India remained Sri Lanka’s largest source market in November, contributing 41,120 visitors or 22% of total arrivals. Russia followed with 29,053, while the UK ranked third with 12,912 visitors. Germany and Australia rounded out the top five with 12,593 and 7,937 arrivals, respectively. Other key contributors included China, France, Poland, the US, and Spain.
India’s dominance in YTD figures was also clear, accounting for 364,093 visitors (20%), followed by Russia with 166,652 (9.2%) and the UK with 159,582 (8.8%).
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry continues to grow with a steadily increasing number of foreign travelers to the country. The growing tourism industry has also become a key revenue generator to the country. The many promotional campaigns carried out by local tourism authorities in tourist source markets while identifying and promoting new tourism concepts have all yielded results with Sri Lanka now being identified as a must visit tourist destination. All these developments have resulted in the expansion of business/investment opportunities in the tourism industry, especially in the leisure and hospitality sectors. Among the opportunities, the development of infrastructure and supplementary infrastructure facilities required by the expanding industry, have taken prominence. The growing business potential in the leisure and hospitality sectors is evident by the interest shown by international leisure and hospitality brands in entering Sri Lanka’s tourism industry. More foreign businesses/investors could therefore confidently explore the expanding opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20241204/Z_8 |