The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau have announced plans to open a night market along Marine Drive by the end of May, as part of efforts to enhance tourist attractions within Colombo city.

Chairman of both institutions, Buddika Hewawasam, revealed the initiative during a media briefing, highlighting the importance of improving facilities and creating engaging experiences for tourists to meet this year’s target of 3 million arrivals.

He pointed out that while Colombo is well-equipped with luxury hotels and modern infrastructure, the city lacks engaging activities, events, and attractions that allow tourists to better experience local culture and lifestyle.

“As part of our City Branding initiative, we aim to increase tourist engagement in Colombo by developing unique experiences,” he said. “The proposed night market along Marine Drive is part of this effort and is now in its final planning stages. We expect to launch it by the end of May.” 

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka reports that tourism earnings for the first quarter of 2025 have reached US$ 1,122.3 million, marking a 9.4% increase compared to US$ 1,025.9 million in the same period last year. 🇱🇰

In March 2025 alone, the country earned US$ 354 million from tourism, helping total earnings surpass the US$ 1 billion milestone in the first three months.

According to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, 722,276 foreign tourists visited the country in Q1 2025. This translates to an average earning of US$ 1,553.83 per tourist.

India has converted 100 million dollars of loans into grants, visiting Prime Minister Narenda Modi said in Colombo, effectively writing off the debt.

“In the last 6 months alone, we have converted loans worth more than 100 million dollars into grants,” Prime Minister Modi said at a briefing with President Anura Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.

Sri Lanka defaulted on its foreign debt in 2022 after extreme macro-economic policy inflation flexible inflation targeting and potential output targeting, shattered the balance of payments.

About 1,366 million dollars of Indian debt, not counting interest in areas was included in debt slated to restructure.

Bilateral debt of Middle Income countries are usually restructured by extending maturities and reducing interest rates. However, India has written off 100 million dollars of debt to Sri Lanka.

Source – Economynext