Sri Lanka's tourism sector sees 122 per cent growth in Jan 2024 compared to last year, says minister
minister on Sunday said the country's external sector performance has seen a marked improvement year on year with tourism fetching USD 342 million in January 2024, an impressive 122 per cent jump from last year. Speaking in Ruwanwella, his home constituency, Minister of State for Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya was delving into the Central Bank of Sri Lanka's external sector indicators issued mid-week.
Siyambalapitiya said the bank figures show that receipts from tourism had fetched USD 342 million, which is a 122 per cent growth in January 2024 year on year.
The inward remittances from Sri Lankan expats in January 2024 had grown by five per cent to USD 488 million up from USD 467 million in January 2023.
The Sri Lankan rupee, which had seen a massive slump during the unprecedented economic crisis, had appreciated by 14.6 per cent in January of this year.
The foreign reserves had increased to USD 4.5 billion in January up 114 per cent from USD 2.1 billion in January 2023.
The economy recorded positive growth in the third quarter of 2023 after six successive quarters of negative growth, Siyambalapitiya said.
Sri Lanka in the second quarter of 2022 had declared bankruptcy announcing the island's first ever sovereign default.
Negotiations with the IMF for a bailout began almost immediately and the first tranche of the USD 2.9 billion facility was released in March 2023.
The finance ministry officials said the IMF officials are due this week to carry
