Sri Lanka aims to attract 1.5 mln tourists in 2023, 3 mln in 2024

COLOMBO, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka aims to attract around 1.5 million foreign tourists next year and 3 million travelers in 2024, a minister said on Friday.

Photo: CGTN

Tourist arrivals have improved in the last few months, Minister of Tourism Harin Fernando told the local media, adding that several airlines are scheduled to commence flights into the South Asian country.

Tourism, one of Sri Lanka's leading foreign exchange earners, has suffered a setback due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic and political crises in the country.

While tourism has recovered somewhat in Sri Lanka, the recovery is lower than its regional competitors.

Sri Lanka's neighbor the Maldives has been welcoming over 100,000 tourists on a monthly basis for the past months, while tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka have been ranging from 30,000 to 60,000, official statistics showed.