📈 Sri Lanka Tourism Data Shift: New Survey Reveals Key Visitor Profile Changes

• A new landmark survey, conducted by SLTDA and the Market Development Facility (MDF) Australia, was launched to address critical data gaps, improve research methodologies, and move the tourism industry away from outdated methods (e.g., per-day spending calculation). • Deputy Minister Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe stated the findings finally allow the industry to "steer... based on realities." • Key Findings (Shift in Visitor Profile): • Gender: 58% of visitors are female. • Age: Over 55% of tourists fall within the 20–35 age bracket. • These insights indicate a "complete shift in Sri Lanka’s traditional visitor profile" and will be crucial for making informed policy decisions, guiding marketing and promotional investments, and designing new campaigns. • The Minister emphasized this study marks a turning point, stressing the need to integrate immigration and other national databases to allow for real-time, data-driven policy decisions, catching up with global leaders.