Tourism in Sri Lanka faces many challenges, including the ongoing economic and political crisis. In 2018, tourist arrivals peaked at 2.5 million, who spent a total of US$5.6 billion in the country. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused tourist numbers to decrease by 92% in 2020. As of 2022, tourist numbers have not rebounded from the pre-crisis high. The government is attempting to attract foreign investment in the country's tourism industry, which began in earnest after the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009.^[1]

Tourism

The government initiatives in the development of tourism date back to 1937 when the Ceylon Tourist Bureau was established.^[2] However, it was closed down in September 1939 due to World War II. After Sri Lanka's independence the promotion of tourism was again considered by re-establishing the Ceylon Tourist Board which took over the function of the Tourist Bureau.

In 1965, J. R. Jayewardene as Minister of State initiated the first major development of the tourism industry with the Ceylon Tourist Board Act No 10 of 1966 and the Ceylon Hotels Corporation Act No 14 of 1966, which formed the Ceylon Tourist Board and the Ceylon Hotels Corporation. Since then the Ceylon Tourist Board has functioned as the state agency, responsible for the development and promotion of the tourism sector in Sri Lanka. Ceylon Hotels Corporation paved the way for government investments to build hotels needed to attract tourists.^[3]

In October 2007 according to Section 2 of the Tourism Act No. 38 of 2005, the Sri Lanka Tourist Board (Act No 10 of 1966) was replaced by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA).^[4]

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority has classified Sri Lanka into several resort regions suitable for tourism development:^[5]

• Colombo and Greater Colombo Resort Region: The Colombo and Greater Colombo Resort Region spreads along the Mount Lavinia in the south to Negombo in the north. Colombo city is the main part of the zone and is the centre for business activities, conferences and sports events in the country. Colombo serves as both a gateway and a stopover point for international tourists.
• South Coast Resort Region: The south coast zone extends from Wadduwa to Tissamaharama. The zone has been divided into two main regions. The first region extends from Wadduwa to Galle. Coastal areas like Kalutara, Beruwala, Bentota, Dedduwa, Madu Ganga, Balapitiya, Ahungalla, and Hikkaduwa are included in this region. The second region, extending from Galle to Tissamaharama, includes Unawatuna, Koggala, Weligama, Mirissa, Matara, Tangalle and Hambantota areas as sub-points of the zone.
• East Coast Resort Region: The East Coast Resort Region extends from Kuchchaveli in the north to Pottuvil in the south. The main tourism zones in this region are Arugam Bay, Pasikudah, Trincomalee and Nilaveli.
• West Coast Resort Region: The West Coast Resort Region extends along Kalpitiya, Marawila and Waikkala areas.
• High Country Resort Region: Nuwara Eliya, Bandarawela and Maskeliya are included for the High Country Resort Region.
• Ancient Cities Resort Region: This region has five world heritage sites, namely Anuradhapura, Dambulla, Kandy, Polonnaruwa and Sigiriya. Other regions include Habarana, Giritale, Matale and Victoria.
• Other Resort Regions: This includes Yala, Udawalawa, Wasgamuwa, Pinnawala, and Ratnapura, Knuckles Range area.

Shared Tourism with India

In the past, ferry services between India and Sri Lanka for tourists have been introduced and suspended repeatedly because of their low usage.^[6] The low usage of the old ferry services could be due to the high cost of the former services.^[7] As of now, the only way for tourists to access India from Sri Lanka is by air. In 2019 negotiations about ferry services between Colombo and Tuticorin and between Talaimannar and Rameshwaram began. There is also a proposal to operate a cruise/ferry service between Colombo and Kochi in Kerala. The Indian and Sri Lankan governments are working closely together to connect the two neighbouring countries better.^[8] The Sri Lankan minister of Tourism Development John Amaratunga indicated that ferry service will help tourists from both sides to travel at a very low cost.^[9]

History

When the government decided to develop the tourism sector as a separate sector of the country's economy by establishing the Ceylon Tourist Bureau in 1966, there were 18,969 foreign tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka. There was an upward trend of tourist arrivals until 1982, with the exception of 1971. Between 1976 and 1982, tourist arrivals had increased by 24% per year. The tourist traffic in 1982 showed that there was a remarkable growth in the number of tourists, with 407,230 arrivals.^[10] However, with the beginning of the civil war in 1983, the growth of tourist arrivals declined and stagnated to around 300,000 – 500,000 arrivals annually.

The civil war that had lasted over 25 years ended in 2009 as LTTE separatists were defeated by government forces. In 2009 the tourist arrivals numbered 448,000, and in 2015, 1,798,380, showing over 300% growth in six years.^[11]

There is a significant domestic tourist segment, most commonly for family holidays, pilgrimages, and general sightseeing.^{[citation needed]} In 2014 six million Sri Lankans travelled within the country as domestic tourists.^[12] The main destinations of domestic tourists are Anuradhapura, Kataragama, Nuwara Eliya, Kandy, Sri Pada, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya and Dambulla. Domestic tourism is noticeable during school vacations and on weekends.

Sri Lanka reopened for tourism in January 2021 under a health protocol involving pre-flight and post-arrival tests for Coronavirus.^[14] Tourists could visit a series of designated locations under 'bio bubble' concept avoiding contact with locals and stay at a number of certified hotels.^[15] An updated list was made available at the Sri Lanka Tourism promotion authority website section 'Hello Again'.^[16] Prior to the official opening, a controversy erupted over tourists brought from Ukraine by a former Ambassador to Russia, where health protocols were breached. It was later described as a pilot project.^[17] The first tourists after the COVID-19 closure arrived in Ukraine's SkyUp Airlines at Mattala Airport on December 28 as part of the so-called pilot project.^[18] In January and February 2021 Sri Lanka welcomed 5,048 tourists, down from 435,941 in 2020, before airports closed in March.^[19]

Visitor statistics

Most visitors arriving in Sri Lanka on a short-term basis were from the following countries:^[20][21]

Foreign visitors to Sri Lanka

Country	4/2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018
India	123,583	302,844	123,004	56,268	89,357	355,002	424,887
Russia	106,308	197,498	91,272	16,984	49,397	86,549	64,497
United Kingdom	71,992	130,088	85,187	16,646	55,455	198,776	254,176
Germany	58,019	102,539	55,542	12,442	34,507	134,899	156,888
China[22]	47,730	68,789	4,715	2,417	26,147	167,863	265,965
France	42,174	56,251	35,482	6,549	24,838	87,623	106,449
Australia	28,964	67,436	30,924	4,421	20,283	92,674	110,928
United States	24,612	46,344	22,230	6,124	16,842	68,832	75,308
Poland	21,847	17,946	15,195	2,110	11,908	20,896	20,378
Netherlands	15,686	29,056	11,987	2,422	8,656	38,993	57,160
Canada	15,666	43,944	26,845	5,079	12,346	48,729	52,681
Czech Republic	11,603	12,056	7,350	1,864	7,599	19,204	17,600
Italy	11,426	22,242	7,449	1,309	8,603	36,147	38,379
Switzerland	10,918	23,556	13,260	2,974	6,389	29,981	33,965
Maldives	10,654	37,298	18,880	6,272	9,407	60,278	76,108
Japan	9,183	19,583	3,087	392	6,644	30,079	49,450
Spain	8,912	23,905	12,895	2,015	3,385	24,489	29,208
Kazakhstan	8,450	5,130	8,068	5,754	2,333	2,399	2,721
Israel	8,142	19,517	9,326	1,724	3,556	14,770	13,833
Austria	7,523	10,594	5,541	1,502	4,300	14,713	19,320
Denmark	7,021	10,346	7,278	1,302	4,905	16,869	19,223
Belarus	6,643	10,969	3,621	646	2,638	4,796	4,621
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