Sri Lanka achieved a significant milestone in tourism, surpassing 700,000 tourist arrivals within the first 14 weeks of the year, marking a remarkable achievement compared to 2023 when it took longer to reach the same milestone.
According to provisional data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, the island nation welcomed a total of 718,315 international visitors from January 01 to April 15.
The first half of April alone saw 82,531 tourists arriving in Sri Lanka, reflecting the sustained growth momentum in the tourism sector. The daily arrival average for the month improved to around 5,502, a substantial increase from the previous year’s average of below 3000 arrivals.
Sri Lanka has set a target of between 168,539 and 182,724 tourist arrivals for April, requiring a daily average between 5,617 and 6,090 to achieve this goal. Current arrival trends indicate that Sri Lanka may meet the lower bound of the target for the month.
While surpassing last year’s April arrivals of 105,498 seems likely, achieving the arrival numbers recorded in April 2018 would require further improvement in momentum.
India emerged as the top tourist traffic generator, contributing 17 percent of the total arrivals for April, followed by the United Kingdom at 11 percent. Sri Lanka anticipates an increase in arrivals from the UK following recent updates to travel advisories.
Russia closely followed as the third-largest contributor, accounting for 10 percent of total international visitors, with Germany, France, Australia, and China rounding out the top positions in tourist traffic rankings.
