Sri Lanka welcomes the 1 millionth tourist of 2023
September 26, 2023 04:11 pm
Sri Lanka has welcomed the arrival of its one millionth tourist for 2023 today (26 Sep.), with the arrival of a Russian couple, marking a significant milestone in the Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, Sri Lanka Tourism confirmed on Tuesday.
Accordingly, the couple had arrived onboard an Oman Airlines flight (WY-373), after having flown from Russia to Muscat in Oman, and then arriving at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake.
Russian national Alex Mazkov and his family were welcomed by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) upon their arrival at the BIA.
SLTPB Director Dr. Prasad Jayasekera noted that this was the first time in three years, since 2019, that Sri Lanka reached this milestone of crossing one million tourists within a year.
In the first 24 days of September alone, Sri Lanka had recorded over 88,000 tourist arrivals, which contributed to the year-to-date figure.
This achievement comes after facing a series of challenges that impacted the country’s tourism sector, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Easter Sunday bombings and an unprecedented economic crisis.
