Three million tourist arrivals expected in 2019 – Tourism Minister

Sri Lanka expects three million tourist arrivals by the end of this year, generating a revenue of USD 5 billion in total, Minister of Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Affairs John Amaratunga told Parliament earlier this week.

“When I took over office, the revenue had been USD 2.5 billion. By 2018, it reached USD 4.3

billion. The goal this year is to see tourism revenue hit the USD 5 billion mark. This will be a 100% growth in a period of four years,” official Government news portal news.lk quoted him as saying.

The Minister further said the country has received USD 5 billion as direct investments and the biggest hotel brands in the world have already invested or shown interest for future investments in Sri Lanka.

With the intention of promoting tourism, a Travel Mart will be held at the end of May with

over 200 travel agents and tour operators who have never marketed Sri Lanka invited to the

event. A programme will also be launched offering a discounted rate during the off season

to attract tourists to the country, the Minister said.