Sri Lanka has just barely missed its 1.5 million tourist arrivals target set for 2023, despite seeing a record number of tourists visit the island nation in December last year.
According to the latest figures of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), approximately 210,352 tourists arrived in December 2023, bringing the total number of tourist arrivals recorded within the last year to 1,487,303.
That official figure is just 12,697 arrivals short of the government’s target of 1.5 million visitors for 2023.
However, the total figure of 1,487,303 tourist arrivals recorded in 2023 is an increase of 106.6% compared to the 719,978 from the previous year.
That official figure is just 12,697 arrivals short of the government’s target of 1.5 million visitors for 2023.
Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka in December 2023 alone had reached 210,352, the highest number for a month during the last four years. It is an increase of 128.7% compared to December 2022 (91,961).
Tourism Minister Harin Fernando on Saturday had predicted that the country would almost reach the annual target of 1.5 million arrivals in 2023.
