Colombo, Feb 18 (Agency) Sri Lanka has made record earnings from tourism in the first 45 days of this year, amounting to 7 billion rupees (about 22.4 million U.S. dollars) from 306,708 tourists, state media reported on Sunday. There is a surge in tourism in Sri Lanka and the country is witnessing the arrival of around 9,000 visitors daily, according to Sunday Observer. India, Australia, China, India and Russia are among the biggest groups of tourists to Sri Lanka, the state media said, quoting the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.
According to official data, over 1.48 million tourists visited Sri Lanka in 2023, marking a two-fold increase from the previous year. Building on this momentum, Sri Lanka aims to surpass the peak of 2.5 million tourists recorded in 2017, with plans underway to achieve this milestone by 2024.