Russia is in the TOP-3 countries in inbound tourism in Sri Lanka

Foreign tourist flow to Sri Lanka in the first quarter of 2020 decreased by 31,5% (to 507,3 thousand people) compared with the same period a year earlier, while Russia entered the TOP-3.

In the first quarter of the year, Sri Lanka was visited by 507,3 thousand foreign tourists – 31,5% less than a year earlier. The decline in flow is connected with the COVID-19 pandemic, due to which countries closed their borders.

In March, the drop in tourist flow amounted to 71% - tourists made 71,4 thousand trips (a year earlier it was 244,3 thousand).

Most often in the first quarter, Sri Lanka was visited by travelers from India (18% of all tourists), the UK (11%), Russia (10%), Germany (7%) and China (5%).

Last year, island state tourism also suffered, as a series of terrorist attacks took place in Sri Lanka in April. The targets of the terrorist attacks were expensive hotels in the capital of Colombo. Due to the tragedy, the number of tourist trips to the country has decreased by several times.

Meanwhile, the tourist flow to Sri Lanka from Russia in 2019 reached a historic maximum, exceeding 86,5 thousand people.