Sri Lanka Tourism surpasses 2023 tourist arrivals  

Sri Lanka Tourism with its continuous promotional efforts with clearly defined strategy and objectives, achieved the previous full year arrivals within the 1st nine months of this year. In 2023 the total arrivals were 1,487,303. During the month of September 2024, a total number of 112,140 tourist arrivals were recorded which showed a 9% growth compared to last year. The key source markets which contributed for this achievement were India, China, UK, Germany, Australia, Maldives, Russia, Bangladesh, Spain and France.

The success was achieved through many strategic initiatives. With the tourism industry at a cross road, “Seen is believing” influencer campaign created a huge impact to take the reality to the globe. Under this initiative, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) hosted nearly 180 media influencers from all over the world to take the positive message and to showcase the truth which supported   the industry to come back gradually to its normalcy.

Some of the renowned travel influencers such as Luke Martin, (popular culinary vlogger) Nusier Yassin (also known as Nas Daily) and Ashish Vidyarthi(popular Bollywood actor)  brought in an immediate connect with this beautiful island which is known for its great hospitality. The recommencement of all major airlines with increased frequency and seat capacity was an indication to the industry that there is a hope for revival.

With this positive vibe, the campaign “Check in …. Sri Lanka is ready” short term digital media campaign was launched. Facilitating stakeholder participation at key Travel & Tourism fairs and exhibitions along with B to B and B to C networking sessions, a positive message was taken to the prospective travelers globally. Some events participated are ITB Berlin, IFTM Paris, ATM Dubai, WTM UK, and SATTE India.

The global recognitions achieved during the year were around 17, including the Pekoe Trail in Sri Lanka being recognized as one of the best in the world by the National Geographic, Sri Lanka being recognized by the Forbes magazine as the fourth most popular travel destination for 2024, and the most recent being ranked as one of the best countries to visit in your lifetime by the CEO World magazine. This is a testimony as to why someone’s choice should be “Sri Lanka” as their next holiday destination. Sri Lanka getting in to some of the top travel indexes has made the destination a desired choice.

Building the destination brand positioning on three key pillars “Compact”, “Diverse” and “Authentic” will differentiate Sri Lanka from the other destinations and give the travelers compelling reasons to visit and revisit our beautiful island.