In all, from January to April 2023, 79 891 Russian tourists visited Sri Lanka. This is 2,11 times (or 112%) more than in the first three months of 2022, when 37 717 travelers arrived in Sri Lanka from Russia.

About 280 thousand tourists from the Russian Federation can visit this country by the end of 2023. From the beginning of January 2023 to the present time, 57,1 thousand Russian tourists have visited the country.

Sri Lanka in the winter season was in the TOP-3 most popular holiday destinations among Russians. Positive dynamics continues in the spring season. A number of tour operators have decided to extend part of the winter flight programs to the island.

From March, Red Wings will launch another additional flight from Moscow to Mattala. Tourists of 4 tour operators will fly on it.

The tour operators Fun&Sun and Coral Travel with Azur air are jointly loading flights of the new charter program to Sri Lanka from three cities - Novosibirsk, Tyumen and Samara.

Despite all the economic difficulties and political instability, Sri Lanka ended 2022 with almost 720 thousand tourist arrivals, which is 207% more than in 2021. However, 2022 figures were 69% down from the record of 2,3 million in 2018.

Due to the lack of destinations available for direct flights, Sri Lanka turned out to be very popular among Russian tourists. For some tour operators, the resort entered the TOP-5 holiday destinations with a share of 10-15% of the total sales of the New Year.

This year, 1,5 million tourists have holidays with the tour operator Fun&Sun. By the end of 2023, the company plans to send 2,5 million tourists.

The tour operators Intourist and Anex Tour have expanded their flight program to Sri Lanka. These tour operators have added blocks of seats on Red Wings flights to regular Aeroflot flights and block transportation on Azur air from Moscow and the regions.

Sri Lanka is well booked both for the New Year and for the winter season in general. One of the reasons is the affordable price of tours and loyal entry conditions.

Sri Lanka was visited by 568,3 thousand tourists over 10 months. Russia took the second place in the ranking of countries for this period, losing only to India.

From November 2, Azur air has launched a flight program to Sri Lanka from Moscow, as well as St. Petersburg, Krasnoyarsk and Novosibirsk. Blocks of seats on these flights are taken by tour operators Anex Tour, Fun & Sun and Intourist.

According to the tour operator Fun&Sun, its flight program to Sri Lanka from Moscow to Colombo airport will start from 01.11.2022 and will last until 12.05.2023. Seats on direct flights to Sri Lanka are shared among Anex Tour, Fun&Sun and Intourist.

Sri Lanka was visited by 50 000 Russian tourists for eight months of 2022. Russia's share in the total foreign tourist flow is 10% now.

In the winter season, six flights a week will fly to Sri Lanka from Moscow. In October there will be 2 flights per week, and since November - 6 flights. Charter programs from three cities of the regions are also planned.

In one week, Aeroflot will resume direct flights on the Moscow-Colombo-Moscow route. Flights are scheduled on Thursdays and Sundays.

Anex Tour and Intourist record high demand for Sri Lanka, where Azur air charter flights have been announced since November.

The tour operator Anex Tour announced the launch of a flight program to Sri Lanka from Moscow and three regions.

Since April 8, flights from Moscow to Colombo (Sri Lanka) have appeared in the booking system of Aeroflot airline. The frequency of the route is three flights per week.

From March 1, tourists, who have a vaccination certificate received at least two weeks before the trip, will not have to do a PCR test within 72 hours before entering the country. Sri Lanka accepts all Russian vaccines, including single-component ones.

At the end of 2021, Russia confidently entered the TOP-3 of source markets for Sri Lanka with the second position. Last year, 16 894 Russian tourists visited the island country.

Tourism in Sri Lanka is experiencing a tourism boom, and not without the help of Russian tourists. Russia turned out to be the second source market in terms of the number of tourists.

The tour operator Space Travel has opened the sale of package tours to Sri Lanka. According to Space Travel, tours to Sri Lanka are offered with a connecting flight in Dubai from seven Russian cities. The flights are operated by flydubai.

This winter, Sri Lanka tries to expand the volume of traffic. So, from November 9, SriLankan Airlines has increased the number of flights to 2 per week between Moscow and Colombo.

In the first seven months of 2021, 702 Russian tourists arrived in Sri Lanka. So, Russia ranked ninth among the main source markets.