Impact of Tourism Industry on the Economic Growth of Sri Lanka

Abstract

In Sri Lanka, tourism has been identified as the third largest and fastest growing source of foreign currency in 2018, after private remittances and textile and garment exports, accounting for almost $4.4 billion or 4.9 percent of gross domestic product in 2018. Tourism industry is a key element which accelerates the economic growth by earning high foreign exchange and reducing poverty by providing direct and indirect employment opportunities to locals. This study primarily investigates the impact of between tourism sector on economic growth by employing Augmented Dickey Fuller’s unit root test, correlation analysis and regression analysis. Annual data from 1989 to 2018 was used. The dependent variable was economic growth while tourists’ receipts were independent variable. Strong and positive correlation was explored between tourists’ receipts and economic growth meanwhile the results of regression analysis indicate that tourists’ receipts significantly impact on the economic growth.