Arrivals to Sri Lanka in September 2024 confirm a rapid slowdown
India emerged once again as the leading tourist-generating market with 27,884 visitors ( 22.8% of total arrivals), followed by China, with 9.078 visitors (7.4%). Visitors from the United Kingdom were the third largest group, with 8,688 arrivals (7.1%). Then came Germany with 8,260 visitors (6.8%), followed by Australia's 7,200 visitors (5.9%).
The many concerns raised by the tourist industry - notably the issuance of visas ‘mess’, that unexpectedly created a severe roadblock, and the ‘travel advisories’ issued by some countries - ahead of the 9th presidential election held on 21st September, all seem to have come together to create the perfect storm for tourism to weather.
It must be said though, that Sri Lanka's first election since the economy buckled in 2022 under a severe foreign exchange shortage, leaving the country unable to pay for imports of essentials including fuel, medicine and cooking gas, is widely regarded as one of the most peaceful in the nation’s history.
Notwithstanding, general elections to be held on 14th November 2024, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is anticipating continued growth, particularly after newly elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake pledged to unlock its full potential by prioritising the sector.
The country has reverted to the previous system of obtaining visas ‘online’ with effect from midnight 27th September. This, along with this the introduction of “Visa-free travel for citizens of 39 countries which comes into effect from October has bolstered the tourism authorities’ confidence of achieving the targeted 2.3 million tourist arrivals in 2024. So far, Sri Lanka has welcomed 1.48 million tourists from 1st January up to 30th September. Hence, the country needs to attract in excess of 800,000 tourists in the next three months, in order to meet the 2.3 million target for 2024. Hospitality Sri Lanka
|
|
|
The slowdown of travelers to Sri Lanka, observed in July and August continues to plummet with September 2024 recording a total 122,140 international visitors to the island. This figure was a mere 9.1% increase over the 111,938 arrivals that came in September 2023.