Earlier, Minister of Wild Life, Christian Affairs and Tourism predicted that at least nine months were necessary for the industry to recover. Yet the recent arrivals figures show that the country can reach the previous level within four months.
In 2018, 2.33 million travellers visited Sri Lanka, 10.3 percent more than in 2017. In 2019, tourist arrivals will hardly reach this figure, but 2 million overseas visitors seem quite a real result.
Despite the Easter Sunday blasts, many reputable tourist resorses around the world like Lonely Planet express support to the country and feature it in their 'recommended destinations’ or 'best destinations' lists encouraging travellers to visit. Together with governmental support of tourist sector in Sri Lanka as well as tightening of the security measures it is one of the reasons for the speedy recovery.
Many countries have recently removed or toned down travel advisories for their citizens heading to Sri Lanka. With relief packages for the industry offered by the government and the country's tourist industry focusing on global marketing campaign tourism on Sri Lanka has all the chances to recover soon and grow even faster than before.
Tourism in Sri Lanka Recovering Faster Than Expected
News in Asia
Sri Lanka reports strong tourism recovery – sooner than expected. In June, tourist arrivals almost doubled compared to May – 63,072 vs 37,802. Yet the figure is still half lower than in the previous year thus year to year performance remains negative.