Sri Lankan tourism industry earns USD 768.2 m in Jan-Feb

Dhaka: Sri Lanka has earned USD 768.2 million in revenue from tourism in January and February 2025, according to a statement from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

The revenue of USD 768.2 million, which is a 11.7% increase compared to the same period in 2024, indicates a positive growth of the Sri Lankan tourism industry. The sector had earned a total of USD 687.5 million in January and February 2024.

Sri Lanka had aimed to welcome 2.3 million tourists and earn USD 5 billion in revenue in 2024, but the country could accumulate a total of USD 3.17 billion only. However, it was still a 53.2% increase compared to USD 2.07 billion accumulated in 2023.

The island nation has set an ambitious target of attracting 3 million tourists in 2025, and the positive figures that emerged during the peak season suggest that the country is likely to get closer to its aim, even if it can't fully achieve it.

The tourism industry contributed around 5% of Sri Lanka's economy until 2018, when the industry was at its peak. But the horrific attacks on Easter Sunday in 2019, the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and then a prolonged political crisis severely impacted the industry, which led to an overall economic catastrophe.

Even after all these disruptions, the Sri Lankan tourism industry still stands as the third largest foreign income source after the remittance and garment industries.