Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka marked 700,000 with 73,314 visitors during the first 26 days of December.
Sri Lanka has welcomed 701,331 tourists so far in 2022.
The government expects tourist arrivals to hit 720,000 in total by the end of 2022.
The number of 700,000 tourist arrivals is the highest annual figure reported since 2019 as Sri Lankan tourism came to a standstill during COVID 19 pandemic.
In 2020 Sri Lanka was only able to welcome 540,000 tourists while the figure dropped to further 194,495 in 2021.
Meanwhile, a considerable number of tourists are scheduled to visit Sri Lanka in the months of January and February in 2023.
The government also expects to welcome 1.5 million tourists in 2023 with the operation of direct flights and cruise ships to the country.
The government has also set a target of welcoming 3 million tourists in 2024.