Sri Lanka is revising its tourism approach by prioritizing economic value generated from each visitor instead of merely increasing tourist numbers. The Tourism Ministry announced the new direction launching a National Tourism Strategic Plan for 2026-2031, supported by input from the Tourism Deputy Minister Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe and Tourism Ministry Secretary Aruni Ranaraja, alongside international consultants under a World Bank grant.
Tourism Arrivals, Revenue and Government Targets
Sri Lanka recorded 2.36 million tourist arrivals in 2025, surpassing pre-pandemic 2018 levels, yet tourism revenue remained around USD 3.2 billion. The government aims to increase arrivals to 4 million and generate USD 8 billion in tourism revenue by
2030. The World Bank is providing USD 300,000 in grant support to aid this economic shift in tourism strategy.
Strategy Components: Value Focus, SMEs, and Leakage Reduction
The new tourism strategy targets longer stays, higher visitor spending, and improved quality experiences. Central to this plan is boosting local spending to reduce economic leakage caused by international airlines, overseas suppliers, and foreign hotel chains. Aninver Development Partners CEO Jose de la Maza emphasized the risk posed by sector informality that could exacerbate leakage and highlighted the importance of empowering small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in local transport, food, accommodation, crafts, and experience provision. He stated, “Tourism is an inherently
entrepreneurial industry” requiring supportive skills, finance, incentives, and business environment.
Geographic Diversification and Product Development
The National Tourism Strategic Plan aims to expand tourism development across all nine provinces, moving beyond concentrating visitors in established hubs. National Tourism Strategic Planning consultant Dr. Malraj Kiriella stressed developing distinct tourism identities for each province, harnessing assets like heritage, wildlife, cuisine, wellness, adventure, marine resources, and crafts, while integrating tourism with agriculture, fisheries, and local industries. He cited challenges in the North and East provinces where infrastructure and connectivity barriers limit tourism growth: “The North and East, for instance, possess substantial cultural, coastal and marine tourism potential, but
connectivity and infrastructure constraints remain significant barriers. The objective, should be to create market-ready, high-value experiences rather than simply moving tourists from one location to another.”
Planning Timeline and Global Communication Campaign
The strategic plan development is scheduled for completion by February 2027. It includes spatial and GIS data analysis and two major national tourism workshops, planned for mid-October 2026 and January 2027, to validate recommendations. Concurrently, a six-month Global Destination Communication Campaign Road Map is being crafted, led by Skift Inc. and MTI Consulting, to establish priorities for a 2027 global promotional initiative covering markets, positioning, stakeholder engagement, budgeting, and monitoring.
Official Statements Emphasizing Sustainability and Value
Tourism Deputy Minister Prof.
Ruwan Ranasinghe stated, “We need to focus on value. That is the way forward,” acknowledging the ecological sensitivity, limited land, and fragile cultural assets that restrict volume growth. He added, “The new strategy consequently faces a more demanding test than setting another arrivals target. The key challenge is no longer simply how many tourists Sri Lanka can attract, but how much sustainable economic value it can generate from each one.” Tourism Ministry Secretary Aruni Ranaraja highlighted that creating value involves longer stays, higher spending, better experiences, and sustainable asset use. Jose de la Maza underscored risks from informality and the
need to keep tourism expenditure within Sri Lanka, saying, “Informality could create another form of leakage from the formal economy.” MTI Team Leader Dr. Vipula Wanigasekera emphasized that the strategy aims to be actionable and measurable, moving beyond producing reports towards tangible transformation.
