Earnings from tourism up in February

Sri Lanka had earned USD 169.9 million from foreign holidaymakers in February, Tourism Minister Harin Fernando said, adding that the earnings have increased from 169.4 million dollars recorded in the corresponding month in 2022.

Over 210,000 tourists arrived in Sri Lanka in the first two months of 2023.

The minister said USD 331.7 million had been earned in the first two months with 102,545 arrivals in January and 107,639 in February.

Tourist arrivals for the year until March 08 stood at 234,547; that was an increase of 9.6 percent compared to last year, he said.

The Russian Federation, India and Germany are Sri Lanka’s top three source markets for tourists so far in March, according to the Tourism Development Authority (TDA) data.

China is the eighth biggest source market for March so far and that this is a very heartening development, the TDA has said.

Tourism, one of Sri Lanka’s leading foreign exchange earners, suffered a severe setback due to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic and political crises in the country.

The country plans to attract around 1.5 million tourists in 2023 and three million in 2024. (RK)