Indian travelers’ boycott of Maldives is helping Lanka: Harin

Calls for Indian travelers to boycott the Maldives is “absolutely” helping Sri Lanka’s travel industry, the country’s Tourism Minister Harin Fernando said Wednesday.

“The Maldives issue is … helping us,” Fernando told CNBC, referencing a social media row in January that resulted in a sharp drop in Indian visitors to the Maldives this year.

India was the Maldives’ largest source market in 2023. But now, according to Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Tourism, it is in sixth place, behind arrivals from China, Russia, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany.

By contrast, nearly 34,400 Indian travelers went to Sri Lanka in January, more than double the 13,759 who visited in January last year, according to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.

Arrivals in the first quarter of 2024 outpaced those in the same time period in 2023, despite a dip in April caused by a visa controversy that saw Sri Lankan visas temporarily double in price.

Fernando also noted the tight relationship between Sri Lanka and India regarding business and tourism.

“Sri Lanka is a big market for [Indian travelers]. It has more to offer and more value when it comes to India.”

He mentioned the country’s beaches, casinos, shopping, and the Ramayana Trail, a series of sites mentioned in the ancient Hindu epic.

Plus, the two countries are highly connected, he said.