MANILA, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on Monday that it has approved a 100-million-U.S.-dollar loan to support Sri Lanka's tourism sector through strategic policy reforms and targeted catalytic investments that align with the country's National Tourism Policy.

The project will support sector governance improvements, enhance private-sector participation and boost tourist arrivals and foreign-exchange earnings, and address the infrastructure gap, while strengthening product development and high-end destination marketing.

The funding for the Sustainable Tourism Sector Development Program consists of a concessional loan of 70 million dollars and a regular loan of 30 million dollars.

The ADB said the program will support policy and institutional reforms across multiple areas of the sector, including governance, asset management, tourism promotion and marketing, skills improvement and digitalization, and sustainable tourism and urban development in two major tourism destinations.

The program will help diversify the sector by promoting untapped tourism areas, including marine tourism, opening up new destinations, increasing tourist stay and spend, and creating an enabling environment for increased women's participation in the sector.

Although Sri Lanka's tourist arrivals in 2025 returned to 2018 levels, ADB Country Director for Sri Lanka Takafumi Kadono said earnings have remained below pre-pandemic levels.

"Through appropriate policy and institutional reforms, infrastructure enhancements, and improved sector resilience against internal and external shocks, tourism can become the engine of inclusive economic growth," he added. ■