2023: Over 900,000 foreign tourist arrivals upto August

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) on Monday night announced that 138,405 foreign tourists had visited the country in August.

More than 900,000 foreign tourists had visited Sri Lanka between January and August 2023, the SLTDA said.

August recorded the second-highest monthly tourist arrivals so far in 2023.

There were 143,039 arrivals in the preceding month. There were only 719,978 arrivals in 2022.

Earlier, Minister of Tourism and Lands, Harin Fernando said Sri Lanka had launched a 1.6 billion rupee (around 500,000 U.S dollars) global promotional campaign to woo foreign holidaymakers to the country. Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is aiming to attract two million visitors in 2023 with the upcoming busy winter season. (RK)