Sri Lanka’s tourism industry soars; over 2 lakh Indian Tourists visit in first nine months this year

As Sri Lanka’s tourism industry moves towards revival, Indian tourist arrivals have reached a crucial milestone. In the first nine months this year, over 2 lakh Indian Tourists have reached Sri Lanka.

This accounts for around 20% of all tourists reaching the island nation. Overall, Sri Lanka saw tourist arrivals cross the million mark by the end of September. Earnings from tourism sector have risen to 1.5 billion USD in the period upto September this year. The sector had seen a slump after 2019 Easter bombing, Covid pandemic and the ensuing lockdown.

The connectivity between the two countries has improved over the last few months as air travel resumed between Jaffna and Chennai in December last year. The services were made daily in June this year. The sector saw completion of 200 journeys this week.

Connectivity between Colombo and Mumbai has also been improved with daily flights operating on the sector. In addition, Ferry services between Nagapattinam and Kankesanthurai are also likely to commence soon.