Sri Lanka earned 2.17 billion dollars in the above period, which is a 66.1 per cent increase from the same period in 2023, the Central Bank data shows.

Tourist arrivals also increased by 50.7 per cent in the same period, and 1.36 million tourists arrived in the first eight months of 2024, the central bank data shows, Xinhua news agency reported.

In August 2024, arrivals were 164,609, an around 20 per cent increase compared to August 2023, Central Bank data shows.

Tourism is one of Sri Lanka’s top foreign revenue generators. Sri Lankan tourism authorities are expecting three million foreign tourists in 2025, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Managing Director Nalin Perera said recently.