Sri Lanka has begun a five-year tourism development initiative backed by a $1 million World Bank grant, aiming to boost revenue per tourist rather than visitor numbers alone.
Sri Lanka has unveiled a comprehensive tourism development program supported by the World Bank, with international and local consultants tasked to reshape the country's tourism sector through 2031. The initiative comprises two parallel projects: a national strategic plan and a global marketing campaign roadmap, both funded through the World Bank's Grant Facility for Project Preparation with a total allocation of $1 million.
Local team leader Malraj Kiriella highlighted a key challenge facing the sector. While Sri Lanka attracted approximately 2.36 million visitors in 2025—surpassing pre-pandemic 2018 levels—tourism earnings reached only $3.2 billion, with per-tourist spending remaining below historical figures. The strategic roadmap will prioritize increasing visitor expenditure and encouraging extended stays over simply raising visitor numbers.
The plan aims to distribute tourism benefits across all nine provinces by integrating the sector with agriculture, tea, wellness, fisheries, and creative industries. José de la Maza, Managing Director of Spain's Aninver Development Partners, which was awarded the main consultancy contract alongside Sri Lanka's EML Consultants, emphasized the importance of creating distinctive travel products and supporting local businesses while reducing economic leakages.
The 24-week consultancy will conduct stakeholder workshops in October and validation sessions in January before presenting a finalized national roadmap by February. A separate global marketing campaign roadmap is being developed by United States-based Skift Inc and Sri Lanka's MTI Consulting to modernize the country's international destination promotion using data-driven strategies.