Fact Check
On 22 May 2019, Dinamina reported State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne making the above statement.
To check this claim, we consulted the latest Annual Report from the Sri Lanka Central Bank (CBSL), from 2018. According to the CBSL annual report, earnings from tourism for 2018 were $4,381 million and GDP was $88,901 million.
This means that earnings from tourism was 4.9% of GDP in 2018.
Therefore, we have classified the state finance minister’s statement as TRUE.
*FactCheck’s verdict is based on the most recent information that is publicly accessible. As with every fact check, if new information becomes available, FactCheck will revisit the assessment.
Sources
Central Bank of Sri Lanka 2018 Annual Report:
Earnings from tourism (2018), page 164, available at:
GDP at Current Market Prices (2018), available at: