He noted that this is the highest number of monthly tourist arrivals the country has recorded over the past four years.

Figures in the weekly summary report published earlier by Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) mentioned that 1,476,951 tourists have visited the island between December 01 and 28.

As such, the total number of tourist arrivals Sri Lanka has registered between January 01 and December 28 currently stands close to 1.5 million, at 1,466,556.

The Tourism Minister said the original target the government had set in January was to reach 1.5 million tourist arrivals by the end of 2023.