Tourism In Sri Lanka Gets A Booster Dose After 35K Indians Visit Island Nation In January

The hostility in diplomatic relations between Maldives and India is far from over and this has affected tourism for the former. However,? Sri Lanka has benefitted from this as the island has received more tourists in January 2024 than Maldives.??

According to Male-based news outlet Adhadhu, the tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka lagged behind Maldives for the past four years.?

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However, 2024 turned the tables as Sri Lanka surpassed Maldives in tourist arrivals. In January, 192, 385 tourists visited Maldives while 208,253 tourists visited Sri Lanka, bringing the difference of over 1 Lakh.?

India emerged as the top source of tourists to Sri Lanka in January 2024.

Sri Lanka Tourism

Adhadhu said a massive surge in Indians flocking the island was one of the major reasons behind the 100 percent increase in Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals in January.?

In Jan 2023, 13,759 Indians had visited Sri Lanka but that number jumped 2.5 times to 34,399 this January.?While the number of Indian tourists to Sri Lanka surged, Maldives recorded a significant drop from 17,029 last January to 15,006 this year.??

What Led To The Shift In India-Maldives Relations?

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In January, a row broke out following some comments by Maldivian ministers against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India. Indian tourists reacted sharply and started a 'boycott Maldives' campaign.?

Maldives Witnessed A Decline In Indian Tourists This Jan

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India topped the list of visitors to Maldives until the row broke out. From being the top tourist group visiting the Maldives, Indians slipped to fifth position in the last three weeks of January, according to the data analyzed by news agency PTI.?

In the last three years, over 2 lakh Indians visited Maldives annually - the highest from any country post-Covid. According to the statistics, Maldives received over 1.74 lakh tourists till January 28 this year, of which only 13,989 were Indians.

Russia topped the chart with 18,561 tourists from the country visiting Maldives, followed by Italy (18,111), China (16,529), and the UK (14,588).?

Over 17 lakh tourists visited the island nation in 2023, of which maximum were Indians (2,09,198) followed by Russians (2,09,146) and Chinese (1,87,118).?

(With PTI inputs)