Sri Lanka’s tourism sector earnings were estimated at US dollars 2,806 million during the first ten months of 2019, compared to US dollars 3,538 million during the corresponding period of 2018, latest External Sector Performance report of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka outlines.

Earnings from tourism were estimated at US dollars 223 million in October 2019, in comparison to US dollars 287 million in October 2018.

A steady recovery in monthly tourist arrivals after the Easter Sunday attacks was observed in recent months.

Tourist arrivals amounted to 118,743 in October 2019, with a decline of arrivals of 22.5% in October 2019, compared to the drop of 27.2% in September and 28.3% in August 2019.

The decline in the number of tourists from key destinations such as the United Kingdom and China mainly contributed to the drop in tourist arrivals, on a year-on-year basis.

Meanwhile, workers’ remittances grew by 1.3%, year-on-year, to US dollars 607 million in October 2019.

On a cumulative basis, workers’ remittances declined by 5.8% to US dollars 5,537 million during the first ten months of 2019 in comparison to the corresponding period of 2018.