Sri Lanka hopes for tourism revival with 1.5 mln

Sri Lanka hopes to double tourist arrivals to 1.5 million next year and bring in $5 billion in vital foreign exchange, the tourism minister said on Thursday, as the island nation seeks ways to tackle its worst financial crisis in seven decades.
The country of 22 million people, famed for its beaches, ancient temples and aromatic tea, has been struggling for months to pay for essential imports of fuel, food and medicine because of a lack of foreign exchange.
Tourism Minister Harin Fernando, “Tourism can play a major role in Sri Lanka’s recovery and this is what we are aiming for next year.”
Fernando saidd, Sri Lanka would likely end this calendar year with 750,000 tourist arrivals and about $2 billion in earnings, adding his ministry would be targeting high end tourists and introducing new products in 2023.
Power Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said, the Indian Ocean island is also rolling back night-time power cuts in tourism zones, as the overall electricity situation improves from 13-hour power cuts earlier in the year.