Tourism sets new records in 2004

2004 was the best of times and it was the worst of times for Sri Lanka tourism. The same year that ended with the deadly tsunami that ravaged the coastal belt, was also a year that set new records across the boards for tourism.

A complete picture of how the tourism industry fared in 2004 has just been published by the Sri Lanka Touris Board.

The Annual Statistical Report of Sri Lanka Tourism 2004 offers more than just numbers. It portrays an industry that was in full expansion last year, with sharp increases in every indicator from tourist arrivals and receipts to jobs and tax revenues generated by visitors.

"2004 was a tragic year for us," said SLTB Chairman Udaya Nanayakkara. "But tourism is an extremely resilient industry and we are working hard to ensure that the buoyancy we experienced up until the final days of last year will return in the shortest time possible," he said.

The report shows tourism ranked as the nation's fourth largest industry in terms of foreign exchange earnings in 2004, following garments, private foreign remittances, and tea.

Earnings from tourism totalled SL Rs. 42.1 billion, an increase of 28% over 2003. Average tourist spending per day rose by 8.1% to US$72.20 compared to US$66.80 in 2003 - a reflection of the SLTB strategy of promoting high-end tourism.

Tourist arrivals, which include business and leisure visitors, climbed by 13% to reach 566,202 compared to the previous year's figure of 500,642. Sri Lanka's top tourism markets in 2004 were United Kingdom (+15%), India (+15%), Germany (no change), France (+6%), and Australia (+22%).

Employment

Catering to the growing number of tourists, thousands of new jobs were created last year in hotels, restaurants, handicraft shops, travel and tour agencies, and other recreational facilities. Direct employment in the tourism sector rose 15% to 53,776 tourism jobs in 2004. Indirect tourism -related employment in fields such as laundaries, food supply and transport was estimated at 75,286 jobs - resulting in a total tourism employment figure of 129,062.

Government revenues

Tourism has always been a major source of government revenues and made a substantially larger contribution in 2004 due to the first full year of the new Embarkation Levy and the Tourism Development Levy (TDL). Direct government earnings from tourism, excluding VAT, totalled SL Rs. 2.5 billion in 2004 - with airport tax and the Embarkation Levy bringing in SL Rs. 1.3 billion and the 1% TDL paid by tourists on all tourism services totalling SL Rs. 300.6 million.

Tickets to the cultural triangle earned SL Rs. 543.1 million and other revenues were derived from entrance fees to national parks, gardens and museums.

Travel by Sri Lankans

The SLTB report also shows more Sri Lankans travelling abroad in 2004 than ever before. Last year, 680,248 Sri Lankans packed their bags for foreign shores - for leisure and for employment - representing an increase of 15% over 2003.

Ever larger number of Sri Lankans are choosing to do their sightseeing and take holidays here at home. Tickets for the cultural triangle were purchased by 532,731 domestic visitors, while 397,968 local tourists made the trip to visit the rock fortress of Sigiriya and 170,416 made the journey to Yala National Park.

The Annual Statistical Report on Sri Lanka Tourism 2004 offers 55-pages of detailed information, charts and graphs on the tourism sector. Additional topics covered include: average length of stay by country: tourist arrivals by gender, age and occupation; seasonality; arrivals by air carrier; accommodation capacity by region and occupancy rates, and much more. It is a basic reference tool for everyone in the tourism industry and can be purchased from the Travel Information Centre at the SLTB for Rs. 500.