Tourism, foreign exchange and loss of dignity

In July 2022 our then government accepted that the country was bankrupt.

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We had lost the ability to repay our foreign debts and import essential food items for our people. It left millions of Sri Lankans struggling to buy food, medicine and fuel. Hundreds of thousands lost employment. The then Governor of the Central Bank estimated that over 500,000 daily paid workers lost employment.

An India line of credit (over $ 4 billion) and an IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of $2.9 billion, helped keep the country afloat. With starvation facing them in the face, thousands of Lankans began seeking employment abroad. The Middle East was the favourite destination of most persons seeking employment overseas.

In the aftermath of Israel’s war of attrition in Palestine, the job market in that country opened. Not surprisingly, Lankan’s desperate to help their families survive the economic crisis in our country sought and received employment in Israel despite the ongoing war in that country. Our people are so desperate that numbers of them even opted to actively participate in the Russo-Ukraine war.

Income from migrant workers contribute the largest share of foreign exchange to government coffers. In fiscal year 2024, Sri Lanka’s migrant workers earned and remitted a record-breaking US$6.58 billion. This significant inflow was a 10.1% increase compared to 2023, according to Public Finance.lk.