Workers' remittances recorded a growth of 6.7% in June 2020, year-on-year, to US $ 572 million, mainly due to festival allowances received by the migrant workers in the Middle East, latest External Sector Performance report of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka outlines.

On a cumulative basis, however, workers' remittances recorded a decline of 8.9% to US $ 2,980 million during the first six months of 2020, in comparison to the corresponding period of 2019.

Meanwhile, as no tourist arrival was recorded for the third consecutive month in June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cumulative tourist arrivals remained at 507,311 during the first six months of 2020, compared to 1,008,449 arrivals recorded during the corresponding period in 2019.

Accordingly, cumulative earnings from tourism, which are estimated based on tourist arrivals, remained at US $ 956 million during the first six months of 2020, recording a drop of 49.7% from the corresponding period of 2019.