Sri Lanka's tourism industry continues to grow steadily, with the country recording 70,678 international arrivals in the first 17 days of September, according to provisional data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). This brings the total number of visitors for the year to 1.43 million, underscoring the island nation’s ongoing appeal to global travelers. 

However, the daily average of tourist arrivals has dipped to around 4,000, a slowdown that industry experts attribute to ongoing challenges with the country’s visa system. Additionally, the recent Presidential election, which saw Anura Kumara Dissanayake elected as Sri Lanka’s new leader, may have caused temporary uncertainty among potential visitors.

Speaking to Mirror Business, tourism officials expressed concern over the unresolved visa issues. Despite repeated warnings about the impact on the industry, authorities have yet to take decisive action to revert to the more efficient visa system previously managed by SLT-Mobitel. This has led to frustration within the tourism sector, which sees the current visa complications as a barrier to maximizing the country’s visitor potential.

India remains the largest source of tourists for Sri Lanka, accounting for 20.7% of the total arrivals so far in September. The United Kingdom and Germany follow as the second and third largest contributors, with 7.9% and 7.2% of total arrivals, respectively. China ranks fourth, making up 6.2% of the visitors. In a positive development, Air China is set to launch daily flights to Colombo, which is expected to boost Chinese tourist numbers in the coming months.

With the presidential election behind them, tourism stakeholders are hopeful that Sri Lanka can quickly resolve its visa issues and continue to build on its strong year-to-date performance, which has already seen more than 1.43 million visitors explore the island’s diverse offerings. 

Author - Usemee.lk