• Each tourist spent $ 1,798 on average during their stay during Jan.-Nov. 2022 
• Per-head spending records growth after slumping from 2019-2021

The foreign exchange earnings per tourist recorded by Sri Lanka last year had reached levels closer to that of 2018, which was the last year in which the country witnessed a significant influx of tourists, calculations by The Morning Business reveal. 

Accordingly, the tourism earnings per head for 2022 were $ 1,798.35, while 2018 saw a corresponding value of $1,877. The numbers indicate a recovery to the pre-economic crisis, pre-pandemic, and pre-Easter-attacks levels.  

In 2022, the total earnings earned from tourism receipts, as per the statistics provided by Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairperson Priantha Fernando, were approximately $ 1.2 billion. 

However, Fernando noted: “The earnings could be slightly higher, somewhere around $1.4 billion,” adding however, that the final figures can only be disclosed following the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s (CBSL’s) final clearance. 

Hence, due to the unavailability of figures for tourism earnings over the entire year, the above calculations for 2022 only include the figures recorded during the period from January to November 2022. 

Meanwhile, the total number of tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka was recorded at 719,978 up to 31 December 2022, with 91,961 arrivals during the month of December, as per the SLTDA.

In 2018, total tourism earnings were recorded at $ 4.38 billion, and the number of arrivals was 2,333,796. Moreover, in 2019, tourism earnings per head were $ 1,884.7. The total earnings and number of arrivals stood at $ 3.60 billion and 1,913,702, respectively. 

In 2020, amidst the pandemic, earnings per head was $ 1,334.2, while total earnings and arrivals fell to $682.5 million and 507,704, respectively. In 2021, earnings per head was a mere $ 1,341.9, while total earnings was $ 261 million and arrivals were at 194,495. 

Tourism Minister Harin Fernando stated recently that Sri Lanka looks forward to attracting nearly 1.5 million tourists in 2023.

Tourism is one of the top three foreign exchange-earning sources of Sri Lanka. However, since 2019, the sector has been taking successive hits, including the 2019 Easter attacks, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the unprecedented economic crisis last year.