Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka has seen more foreign remittances this year, revealing a sum of US $3,863 million in the first eight months of 2023, reports claimed.
This is reportedly a greater value than the US $2,215 million received during the corresponding period of last year, revealed the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).
In August 2023, foreign remittances amounted to US $499 million, and the value stood at US $325 million in August 2022.
These figures appear in the backdrop where many people are leaving Sri Lanka for foreign employment, and about 311,056 have left the country this year.
With increasing tourist arrivals, Sri Lanka sees 904,318 tourist visits from January to August this year, and this is reportedly greater than the 496,430 tourists arrived in the country in the corresponding period in 2022.
In August this year, tourists spent US$ 211 million in Sri Lanka, and their spending amounted to US $219 million in July and only US$ 68 million in August the year before, according to data.
From January to August this year, tourists spending amounted to US $1,304 million, a value much greater than the US $833 million reported during the corresponding year of 2022.
Most of the tourist earnings are from countries like India, the UK, China, Germany, and Russia.