The campaign, with the theme Fall in Love Again, was launched by The Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance after officials admitted bookings to the island were “very low”.

The Alliance said despite the lifting of most travel advisories, “the return to stability is not being communicated to consumers in key markets, who believe Sri Lanka is not ready for tourists”.

It added: “The current demand for travel to Sri Lanka is very low whereas overall global travel demand is at an all-time high.” 

The UK FCDO no longer advises against travel to Sri Lanka, but on its website says there remain “shortages of basic necessities including medicines, cooking gas, fuel and food”, transport difficulties and “daily power cuts due to electricity rationing”.

The Alliance campaign is primarily digital and will run for the next three months to stimulate winter bookings. Additionally, the Alliance will launch 100 Reasons to Love Sri Lanka on social channels, with a separate reason each day. 

Malik Fernando, chair of the Tourism Alliance, said: "Thanks to the excellent winter season after Covid, Sri Lanka created such wonderful memories and word-of-mouth recommendations, that promised to make the upcoming winter even better. 

“The economic crisis put paid to that but with the return of stability we still have an opportunity for a decent season if only we urgently communicate the correct situation to consumers in key source markets."