Tourism Minister Harin Fernando has identified visa-free entry as a major challenge in meeting Sri Lanka’s tourism goals. He noted that neighboring countries offering visa-free access to travelers present significant competition. “All our regional competitors are providing free visas for visitors, which makes it challenging to meet our target numbers,” Fernando said. Despite these challenges,
Sri Lanka has welcomed over 100,000 tourists in July up to the 18th, according to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. The year-to-date total now stands at 1.119 million tourists.
Consumer expenditure in Sri Lanka has shown a robust recovery, reaching USD 42.65 billion in 2024. This notable increase over the past 18 months highlights a significant rebound from the economic downturn, according to Ramakrishnan Gopalan, Vice President & Head of Products for India & South Asia at Visa. Gopalan noted that the country is
The Sri Lanka Human Capital Summit 2024, held at Temple Trees in Colombo on Thursday, July 18, aims to address the country’s pressing talent drain issue. Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed are scheduled to speak at the event. Key stakeholders will focus on the talent drain threatening Sri
Sri Lanka has seen a significant boost in tourist arrivals, welcoming over 85,000 visitors in the first 14 days of July, bringing the total for 2024 close to 1.1 million. This surge is largely due to the Dawoodi Bohra International Convention held in Colombo, which concluded recently. From July 1 to 14, a total of
The completion of the Bingiriya Investment Zone is projected to generate $2.6 billion in export income and create 75,000 job opportunities, stated President Ranil Wickremesinghe during the inauguration ceremony of the second and third phases of the Export Processing Zone in Bingiriya. He emphasized ongoing efforts to establish new investment zones to further bolster the
Sri Lanka will transfer the operations of its Chinese-built Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport to a consortium of Indian and Russian firms, despite warnings from the United States about sanctions on a key stakeholder of the Russian company involved, according to the island’s Aviation Minister. A joint venture between India’s Shaurya Aeronautics Pvt Ltd and Russia’s
The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) announced that the process to expand free visa facilities to over 60 countries is expected to be finalized by the end of this month. SLTDA Chairperson Priantha Fernando stated that the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have submitted a joint Cabinet paper for approval.
Sri Lanka has achieved a significant milestone by welcoming its one millionth tourist arrival for 2024. The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), in collaboration with Airport Aviation Services and Sri Lankan Airlines, celebrated this achievement on Saturday, June 29, 2024, by greeting Paul and Patricia Roe from Ireland. The couple, who traveled to Sri
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry shows positive signs in early June: Challenges Remain: Overall 2024 Target: Additional Notes: Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has shown some positive signs in early June. However, it remains to be seen if they can consistently meet their monthly targets and achieve their overall goals for 2024.