State media reported on Sunday, February 18th, that Sri Lanka is set to welcome 50 cruise ships at its ports from February to April, as confirmed by B.H.R. Sariffo Deen, Director General of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.
Deen highlighted that the majority of these ships will dock at Colombo harbor, while some will also make stops at Hambantota harbor and Trincomalee harbor. Each cruise ship typically accommodates ~1000 passengers, and they are expected to remain anchored in Sri Lanka's ports for ~2 days.
Deen emphasized that these cruise operations are anticipated to bolster tourism arrival figures for 2024.
Official data indicates that Sri Lanka welcomed 1,48+ million tourists in 2023, marking a significant increase compared to 2022. Leveraging this momentum, Sri Lanka aims to surpass the peak of 2,5 million tourists recorded in 2017, with strategic plans in place to achieve this milestone by 2024.