Sri Lanka’s
tourism industry marked a resounding start to the new year by receiving more than 200,000 international
visitors throughout the month of January.
In January,
Sri Lanka received a total of 208,253 tourists, recording a staggering 103
percent year-on-year (YoY) growth. In January 2023, the island nation welcomed
102,545 visitors.
However,
despite the industry having maintained a strong momentum of crossing the
200,000 milestone for two consecutive months, the tourist arrival rate is below
the expected levels of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA).
As per the
projections of the SLTDA, in the lower case scenario, the tourist arrival
expectation for January was 223,179, whereas in the upper scenario, the
expectation was 241,962.
Based on the
performance indicators set by the relevant authority, the island nation has
missed the January target, the lower case scenario, by about 6.6 percent.
The January
2024 tourist arrival number is also lower than what was recorded in December
2023; it was 210,532.
Analysis
shows that the weekly arrival average stood at about 47,000, whereas the daily
arrival average was about 6,700.
India continues to remain as the largest tourist
traffic generator for Sri Lanka tourism. The neighbouring giant contributed to 16 percent
of the total arrivals, bringing in 34,399 visitors.
Ranking
second is the Russian Federation, which accounted for 15 percent of the total
arrivals, bringing in 31,159 tourists.
In the third
position is the United Kingdom, which accounted for 8 percent of the arrivals,
bringing in 16,665 international visitors.
While
Germany and China rank as the fourth and fifth largest tourist traffic
generators, the other key markets include France, Poland, Australia and the
United States