Tourist arrivals drop by 30%

2026-03-14 - 04:57

Deputy Minister of Tourism Ruwan Ranasinghe says that 768 flights scheduled to bring tourists to the island have now been cancelled due to the ongoing war situation in the Middle East. He pointed out that as a result, a decline of around 30% in tourist arrivals has been observed. Deputy Minister Ruwan Ranasinghe also stated that plans have been prepared to develop Mattala Airport to promote the tourism industry. Meanwhile, the Export Development Board says that the ongoing war situation in the Middle East has also affected Sri Lanka’s export sector. Its Chairman, Mangala Wijesinghe, stated that the Middle East region accounts for about 8% of Sri Lanka’s total exports. He further noted that if the crisis continues to escalate, discussions are underway to redirect the 35% of tea exports currently sent to Iran to another country.