Statement from Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau 

• The City of Colombo gears up to welcome 2024 with enthusiasm and festive cheer

The entire city of Colombo has come alive with the festive vibes at the moment, and adding to the enthusiasm, Sri Lanka Tourism is looking forward to welcome the New Year with an entire line up of fun and entertainment, and mainly with the purpose of attracting both local and foreign tourists, showcasing a glimpse of how the island nation is gearing up to welcome the New Year with excitement and positivity.

The New Year celebrations at the Galle Face green arranged by Sri Lanka Tourism, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Lands, is going to be one splendid evening and a memorable experience to cherish throughout the year.

With the purpose of giving all Sri Lankans a gala New Year treat, Sri Lanka Tourism by now has made all arrangements to have the musical event of the year ‘’Ayubowan 2024’’ with Flashback, one of the leading music groups in Sri Lanka and the audience will get some amazing musical experience with the likes of popular artists such as BNS, Jayasri, Romesh Sugathapala, Sanka Dineth , Sashika Nisansala, Ruwan Hettiarachchi, Amal Perera, Lahiru Perera, Amila Nadeeshani , Kanchana Anuradhi, Shanika Wanigaskera, Wasthi, Senanayake Weraliyadda, Dhanapala Udawatta, Namal Udugama, Dimanka Wellalage and many more.

A live telecast will be shown via Siyatha TV , which is the Media partner for the event .

Measures are being taken at the moment to make this become the most highlighted festive treat and streets of Colombo have been lit up and decorated to match the festive cheer and turning it to a festive wonderland.

The leading hotels in Colombo have their equal share of surprises for the New Year, with fun filled New Year’s Eve dinners all-inclusive of entertainment and sumptuous cuisine, and they expect no less than 18,000_ 20,000 guests to come and enjoy the ending of another year, and welcoming another one.

By now , 80 of the Colombo hotels are filled with tourists, expecting to get a glimpse of how New Year is celebrated in Sri Lanka. The action and fun filled atmosphere will encourage more tourists to visit Sri Lanka as a destination filed with action and activity.

Since Colombo is going to be a major entertainment hub tomorrow, and to avoid inconvenience during the 31st night, a special traffic plan has been spread by Sri Lanka Police from pm onwards, on December 31st focused on Pettah , Slave Island , and Colpetty areas.

Several parking slots have been arranged to park vehicles which travel to Colombo. also including a special shuttle service arranged by Sri Lanka Tourism.

It has been a turbulent nevertheless a year full of surprises for Sri Lanka Tourism. It saw a major influx of tourist arrivals this year, and the comeback year for tourism, as the beginning of a positive year ahead for Sri Lanka Tourism. Sri Lanka received it’s 1 million mark in September 2023, and during December 2024, tourist arrivals passed the 200, 000 mark and as of 28th December, it has reached 1.46 Million, which has been a brilliant achievement for Sri Lanka Tourism. For the last 4 years, this has been the highest arrival in one month, and something which Sri Lanka can could rejoice as a destination.

The original target was 1. 5 Million this year, but Sri Lanka Tourism has almost come close to that target, making it become a world renowned travel destination once more. Thus Sri Lanka Tourism is gearing up excitedly for another brand New Year, filled with success and becoming the number one travel destination in 2024.