Tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka in 2023 exceed 860,000

Pinnawala elephant orphanage in Sri Lanka

Tourists take pictures of a herd of elephants at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka. (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA / AFP via Getty Images).

Over 860,000 tourists arrivals in Sri Lanka have been reported thus far in 2023, as per the statistics by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA).

Accordingly, a total of 866,744 tourists arrivals were reported since January this year, of which 98,831 were reported within the first 20 days of August, the SLTDA stated.

While a majority of the tourists have been identified as Indian nationals, a high number of British and Chinese nationals were also recorded entering Sri Lanka.