Nimesha is MDF Sri Lanka’s Sector Coordinator – Tourism and Nipuni is a Business Adviser with the MDF Sri Lanka Tourism team.

From tea-cloaked hills in the Central Highlands to the surf-lined beaches of the Southern Coast, Sri Lanka offers a remarkable density of landscapes within a single island. For decades, that diversity has drawn travellers seeking both cultural depth and natural escape.

But in a tourism market reshaped by digital discovery and rising traveller expectations, destination appeal alone no longer guarantees success. Visitors are comparing more options, planning more precisely, and demanding experiences that feel tailored rather than typical.

For countries like Sri Lanka, where tourism plays a critical economic role, the question is no longer how to attract attention, but how to convert it into sustained growth.

The Australian Government-funded and Palladium managed Market Development Facility (MDF) is working with tourism businesses across Sri Lanka to answer that question, helping them better understand their audiences and respond with sharper, more targeted offers that help to turn competition into opportunity.

Part of this work has involved close collaboration with national decision-makers to support data collection and analysis, helping the government improve how it reports tourism data.

A Sector with Promise

Sri Lanka’s tourism sector has been a lifeline for the island nation’s economy in the years after the COVID-19 pandemic and an economic crisis in 2022. Tourism contributes 4% of GDP and supports nearly 490,000 people in formal jobs (and several thousand more in informal ones). Despite its dependence on the sector, Sri Lanka’s approach has been largely volume-based tourism.

“While more tourists are a good thing, the country needs more high-value tourists, who spend more and stay longer, who bolster the economy, businesses and incomes,” explains Maryam Piracha, MDF Sri Lanka Country Director. “Higher-value tourism is also more resilient in the long-term.”

Moreover, the country has lacked the data systems needed to fully understand tourism’s true economic footprint and, without reliable evidence, policymaking has often been reactive. With MDF’s support, key decision-makers are now seeing the value of investing in reliable tourism data. Data ensures that investments align with visitor demand, tourism products cater to the right markets, overtourism is prevented and service quality is improved.

Laying the Foundation – the Airport Exit Survey

Globally, key decision-makers use Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSAs) to measure how tourism contributes to an economy (employment, incomes, sustainability, etc). A practical first step towards a TSA is an airport exit survey to assess visitors’ travel spending, behaviour and motivations. This data can be used to stategise more accurately for greater competitiveness and resilience.

In 2024, MDF partnered with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) to deliver the country’s first large-scale airport exit survey—capturing the perspectives of more than 11,000 inbound travellers from over 50 countries, alongside 5,000 Sri Lankans travelling abroad.

“The results provide one of the clearest pictures yet of how Sri Lanka’s tourism market is evolving,” Dinushka Pieris, Assistant Director of Research and International Relations at SLTDA, adds[TR3.1]. Today’s visitors are younger, with travellers aged 20–35 making up almost half of those surveyed (46%), and more likely to travel independently, with 62% organising their trips solo. Digital channels are increasingly central to trip planning, with nearly half of respondents (46%) booking online rather than through traditional agents.

While preferences are shifting, some constants remain. Sri Lanka’s beaches continue to be the country’s most sought-after experience, but visitors are also combining coastal stays with cultural exploration. Destinations such as Galle, Ella and Sigiriya stand out as the most visited, pointing to a strong appetite for itineraries that blend heritage, landscape and leisure. The survey also highlights a notable gender shift, with women accounting for 58% of respondents.

This work builds on a longer-term partnership, says Piracha. “Since 2019, MDF has supported SLTDA to strengthen its research systems—from training its research division in survey design and data collection to introducing more advanced approaches to analysis and reporting.” Today, the authority’s regular insights on the tourism landscape are helping to shape investment decisions, guide product development, and inform how Sri Lanka positions itself in an increasingly competitive global market.

“This initiative has helped us lay a strong foundation and translate insights into practice,” explains Pieris. “It has been a valuable, long-term, and eye-opening journey.”

From Data to Decisions

The impact of the airport exit survey is already being felt across Sri Lanka’s tourism ecosystem, with its findings informing key policy, planning and commercial decisions.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has used the data to revise the country’s average daily tourist spend—adjusting it from US$178, set in 2018, to US$148. This figure underpins everything from national revenue projections to pricing strategies across hotels and tour operators, making it a critical benchmark for the sector.

Government agencies are also using the insights to respond to shifting global conditions. Drawing on the survey’s identification of priority markets, the SLTDA has introduced a visa fee waiver for 40 countries, aimed at sustaining visitor flows amid geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East. In parallel, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau is applying the data to shape more targeted international marketing campaigns, aligning messaging with the preferences and behaviours of key traveller segments.

The survey is also proving valuable in times of disruption. Following Cyclone Ditwah in November 2025, which caused widespread damage across the country, SLTDA used the data to assess the impact on tourism flows and inform recovery planning—demonstrating how stronger data systems can support both long-term strategy and crisis response.

Sustaining Momentum

The work in data is set to continue beyond MDF support. The SLTDA will independently conduct the airport exit survey, increasing sample size to strengthen reliability. It is also collaborating with the Department of Census and Statistics to implement a domestic survey as another key component leading up to a TSA – more positive signals of growing institutional ownership of data-driven decision-making.

“Our vision is to make data a vital pillar of Sri Lanka’s tourism transformation,” notes Deputy Minister of Tourism Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe. “This allows us to plan strategically, invest wisely, and respond to global trends with confidence.”
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry stands at a turning point. The airport exit survey marks more than a technical achievement – it represents a shift in how the sector understands itself, moving from intuition to insight. By measuring what matters and acting on it, Sri Lanka is strengthening its ability to compete in a global market.