Tourist arrivals top 1.6 m mark by end Oct.  Source : ft Sri Lanka has reached a significant milestone, surpassing 1.6 million tourist arrivals for the year, with over 117,000 visitors registered in the first 27 days of October.  Despite this positive momentum, industry stakeholders believe the numbers could have been higher if not for recent challenges, including visa processing delays and travel advisories from foreign missions warning of potential security threats in Arugam Bay. The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) had initially targeted 2.3 million arrivals for 2024, based on the benchmark set in 2018, along with a projected revenue of $ 4.5 billion.  However, SLTDA Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam recently suggested that these expectations were overly optimistic given current circumstances. Instead, Hewawasam now anticipates 2 million arrivals and just over $ 3 billion in revenue by year’s end.(https://www.ft.lk/top-story/Tourism-industry-unfazed-by-security-warnings-SLTDA-Chief/26-768463) Tourist arrivals in October were on an upward trajectory during the ...