Sri Lankan tourism revenue sees significant increase in May

Sri Lanka’s estimated tourism revenue in May saw a remarkable growth of over 200 per cent year-on-year, reaching $131.5 million, according to the latest data from the country’s central bank. This impressive increase occurred despite the fact that May is considered an off-peak month for tourist arrivals, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Priantha Fernando told the media on Saturday. The estimated revenue from tourism in May 2022 was $43.5 million, data showed. For the first five months of 2023, the tourism revenue totaled $827.8 million, marking a substantial increase of 30.4 per cent compared to the same period of last year when it stood at $634.6 million, according to the official data. Data also showed 524,486 foreign visitors arrived in Sri Lanka in the first five months of this year, surpassing 378,521 arrivals recorded a year earlier, Xinhua news agency reported. Tourism, one of Sri Lanka’s leading foreign exchange earners, suffered a setback due to the Covid-19 pandemic and economic and political crises in the South Asian country.