Tourism Strategic Plan – 2017/2020
In Sri Lanka, tourism is the third largest export earner in the economy, after remittances and textiles and garments. In the past five years, growth in visitor numbers has been unprecedented, averaging more than 22% year on year, of which 80% to 90% was visitors coming to Sri Lanka on holiday.
Sri Lanka is an increasingly popular destination for international travellers, as well as for expatriates returning home to visit friends and relatives. Recently, Lonely planet named Sri Lanka as the Number 1 destination to visit in 2019 and Global influencers including Condé Nast Traveler, Rough Guides, Lonely Planet, The Guardian,
Forbes Magazine and the New York Times have identified Sri Lanka as a top location to visit in the past. However, a transformation of the tourism industry was required to make Sri Lanka competitive in the global travel marketplace. This is the context and rationale behind Tourism strategic plan (TSP) 2017 – 2020, which recommends 144 action items and implementation mechanisms for the next few years, with a longterm view towards Tourism Vision 2025 and achieving United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
The Tourism Strategic plan envisages three main high-level objectives for 2020. The first objective is to promote tourism to be the third net foreign exchange earner, support industries to employ 600,000 Sri Lankans with women accounting for 10% of the workforce and to increase daily spending per visitor to US$ 210. By 2025, it is hoped that Sri Lanka will be identified as a place for memorable, authentic and diverse tourism experiences.
With these ambitious aims for the future, The Ministry of Tourism and Wild Life look forward to work with our 4 institutions – Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau, Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management and the industry stakeholders to make the Tourism Strategic plan for 20172020 reality.
To read more on Tourism Strategic Plan – http:// www.sltda.gov.lk/ sri-lanka-tourismstrategic-plan-2017