Sri Lanka Popular with International Tourists

The devastating bomb attacks on Sri Lankan churches and hotels this Easter Sunday could hit a country where tourism means big business once again. In the aftermath of the attacks that to date claimed the lives of 321 people, Sri Lanka is expecting a decline in international tourism as the country is deemed less than safe for visitors.

Among the victims of the attacks are at least 38 foreigners among them Indian, British, Danish, Japanese, U.S.-American, Saudi, Dutch, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, Australian and Bangladeshi nationals.

In recent years, the number of foreign visitors to the island south of India has risen steadily, as data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority shows. Around 2.3 million international tourists visited Sri Lanka in 2018. Beach resorts as well as cultural sights have been drawing more and more visitors to the country since the end of the civil war in 2009.