The total amount of visitors to Sri Lanka’s Botanic Gardens had declined by 7.2% in 2017 from 3.05 million in 2016 to 2.83 million in 2017, the latest annual review of the Department of National Botanic Gardens’ notes. Among these 440,207 were foreigners in 2017 which had declined from 465,405 in 2016, down by a 5.4%, whilst total revenue from foreign visitors had increased to Rs. 640 million in 2017 from Rs. 594.3 million in 2016 increasing by 7.6% year-on-year. Meanwhile total earnings from all visitors including foreigners and locals had increased by a 6.1% year-on-year from Rs. 709.7 million in 2016 to Rs. 753 million in 2017 according to the financials of the Department of National Botanic Gardens.

The report further outlines that the total revenue earned from admission fees, plant sales was Rs. 849 million from Sri Lanka’s Botanic Gardens, which showed an 8% increase compared to the previous year.

Sri Lanka’s Main Botanic Gardens include the Royal Botanic Gardens Peradeniya (established 1821), Hakgala Botanic Gardens (established 1861) and Henarathgoda Botanic Gardens, Gampaha (established 1876) which were established by the British While the Medicinal Plant Gardens, Ganewatta was established in 1950s; Mirijjawila Dry Zone Botanic Gardens, Hambantota and Seethawaka Wet Zone Botanic Gardens,

Avissawella were opened to the public in 2013 and 2015 respectively as new Botanic Gardens designed by local experts. More than 4500 plant species have been conserved in the Botanic Gardens under the Department of National Botanic Gardens including rare plants, endangered plants from forests and endemic plants species found only in Sri Lanka. Besides the Botanic Gardens, the Medicinal Plant Garden, Ganewatta also contributes to conserve medicinal plants in Sri Lanka.

- Reporting By Devendra Francis