A couple from Thailand who arrived onboard a SriLankan Airlines flight yesterday (26) marked the two millionth tourist arrival in Sri Lanka for 2024, the Ministry of Tourism stated.

The Ministry had also organised a special programme to celebrate the arrival of the two millionth foreign tourist.

Deputy Minister of Tourism, Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe said that the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) had organised a special ceremony at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake last morning to commemorate the milestone.

From January to 22 December, Sri Lanka had welcomed 1,966,256 international visitors. December alone saw 161,383 foreign tourists, with India contributing the highest number at 35,131 arrivals. In addition, Sri Lanka has been visited by 22,637 tourists from Russia, 12,822 from the United Kingdom (UK), 9,998 from Germany, and 8,646 from Australia during December.

Throughout the year, India remained the top source market with 399,224 visitors, followed by Russia with 189,289. The UK sent 172,404 tourists, while Germany, China, and France contributed 131,379, 120,268, and 86,440 arrivals respectively. It is expected that the country would surpass 2.1 million foreign tourist arrivals by the end of the year.