Sri Lankan tourism earnings surge by 61 pct in January-September

COLOMBO, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) — Sri Lanka’s revenue from tourism in the first nine months of 2024 has surged by around 61 percent compared to the same period in 2023, the latest data from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) showed.
Sri Lanka made 2.35 billion dollars from tourism in the first nine months of 2024, compared to 1.46 billion dollars during the same period last year, CBSL data showed.
The South Asian country earned 181 million U.S. dollars from tourism in September 2024, compared to 152 million dollars in September 2023, CBSL data showed.
Meanwhile, there were 122,140 tourist arrivals in September, which is a 9.11 percent increase compared to arrivals in September 2023.
Sri Lanka received over 1.48 million tourist arrivals in total in the first nine months, expecting to attract 2.3 million tourists this year.
Tourism is a key foreign revenue generator for Sri Lanka. ■