Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka up 9.6% y-o-y in March
The Morning: Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals climbed by 9.6% in March, compared to the same period last year, with 229,298 tourist arrivals, data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has shown.
The first week of March saw the highest influx, with 53,113 arrivals, indicating strong seasonal demand.
India remained the top source market with 39,212 visitors, reinforcing its position as a consistently high-performing segment. Russia followed closely with 29,177 arrivals, while the UK, Germany, France, and China also contributed significantly.
With 722,276 arrivals in the first quarter of 2025, Sri Lanka expects to meet its annual target of three million tourists, a goal set as part of broader economic recovery efforts. Tourism is a critical driver of Sri Lanka’s economy, contributing approximately 5% to GDP and serving as a key source of foreign exchange earnings.
OSL take:
The steady growth in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is further evident by the official figures being released by the tourism authorities. The industry has also become a key revenue generator to the key country with moves to further increase revenue targets for the tourism sector. The increasing tourism concepts in the country and the recognition of Sri Lanka as a must visit tourist destination have helped the growth in the tourism industry. All this growth has resulted in the expansion of business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism and related sectors like leisure and hospitality. These opportunities are manifold and also include the development of infrastructure and supplementary infrastructure facilities required to meet the expanding tourism concepts as well as the increasing demand. The interest shown by international leisure and hospitality brands to enter into Sri Lanka’s tourism industry and the expansion programmes undertaken by businesses already operating in the industry are clear indications of the growing business potential in the tourism industry. Foreign businesses/investors on the lookout for lucrative business ventures in the region could therefore confidently explore the growing business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry and related sectors.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20250409/Z_2 |