COLOMBO, Dec 25 (NNN-XINHUA) – Sri Lanka recorded over 50,000 international tourist arrivals, for the first 20 days of Dec, a significant improvement compared to previous months, according to latest data released by the tourism authority.
The daily average of arrivals in Dec is over 2,500, and in the first 11 months of this year, the figure was around 1,900, data from Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) showed.
The total number of international tourist arrivals for the year to Dec 20, was 678,392, according to the SLTDA.
Tourism, one of Sri Lanka’s leading foreign exchange earners, has suffered a setback due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the country’s economic and political crises.
Sri Lanka aims to attract around 1.5 million tourists in 2023, and three million tourists in 2024, Minister of Tourism and Lands, Harin Fernando, said earlier this month.
