COLOMBO: Travel industry players in Sri Lanka are hoping to attract more tourists from Saudi Arabia as island nation grapples with an ongoing crisis in its tourism economy. Tourism has long been a key source of capital for Sri Lanka. In 2018 tourism sector accounted for $ 4.4 billion 5.6 percent of country’s GDP.

But this dropped to just 0.8 percent in 2020, as Covid-19 endemic put brakes on global travel. Sri Lanka has dubbed 2022 “Visit Sri Lanka Year,” and authorities are prioritising recovery of tourism as the country sinks deeper into its worst economic crisis since independence. “Saudi Arabia is an important source for Sri Lankan market, due to size of its population and high GDP per capita in region,” Madhubhani Perera, public relations director of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau told Arab News.–Agencies

Published in The Daily National Courier, August, 22 2022

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