The cold winter winds blow strongly on the coast of Rekawa beach in Southern Sri Lanka. As the waves hit the sands, we see a large, hard-shelled reptile crawl onto the shore. It slowly makes its way towards the land, finds a comfortable spot and starts digging. As one wonders what this creature would do next, it lays its eggs unhurriedly. Soon, it is joined by others in its community, who follow the same regime to lay their eggs.

What you just read is the mass nesting of Olive Ridley Turtles on the shores of Sri Lankan beaches! Each year, the coastlines of Kosgoda, Bentota, Induruwa, and the southern coast near Bundala are filled with thousands of these marine marvels that travel long distances to lay their eggs across these shores.

If this marine phenomenon fascinates you, you are not alone. Annual turtle walks and sightings attract a considerable number of visitors to these beaches to experience turtle nesting in Sri Lanka and India.

The impetus to this attraction is also seen from the recent Union Budget 2026 of the Government of India, which has propelled momentum to facilitate eco-tourism. Among the Indian thematic trails, mass nesting Olive Ridley Turtle trails along the coasts of Odisha, Karnataka and Kerala, which are key nesting sites, have received a significant push to emerge as regulated eco-tourist magnets. This is a lucrative effort to promote animal-based eco-tourism, attract more tourists, and achieve tourism-related economic contribution goals.

Why this is attractive for Sri Lanka?

Global turtle-watching tourism was valued at $1.2 billion in 2024 and is projected to increase to $2.6 billion by 2033, with a CAGR of 18.1% (Grand View Research, 2024). Among several potential hotspots globally, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to record the highest CAGR of 10.1% between 2024 and 2033 (Market Intelo, 2024).

This growth is fuelled by multiple biodiversity features, government support, and improved travel connectivity. Further, the Sri Lankan tourism market is getting back on its feet in a post-COVID world, receiving almost 2.8 million visitors in February 2026. Such a tourist influx provides strong incentives for Sri Lanka to use such a unique natural phenomenon to its advantage and emerge as a niche eco-tourism segment.

Finally, the promotion of eco-tourism aligns with the government’s push towards sustainability campaigns to engage with local and international communities. Such measures are being adopted to ensure that the country remains attractive to tourists while preserving its natural beauty.

While the forecasts paint a promising picture, there are more cogs in this tourism machine. One primary concern is the invisible spillover effect of human–animal conflict that arises from such efforts, especially if they are left unregulated or handled without adequate care.

For successful nesting and egg-laying, the turtles require appropriate environmental conditions, including quiet surroundings, favourable temperatures, minimal light, and limited human movement. If these conditions are not fulfilled, turtles may engage in false crawls (that is, returning to the sea without laying eggs), experience imbalanced hatchling sex ratios, or abandon nesting altogether.

A study on loggerhead sea turtle nesting sites in Greece has shown adverse effects of tourist activity on nesting behaviour, site thermal conditions, egg maturation, and hatchling characteristics. Similar results have been observed in studies from Costa Rica, Australia, Florida (USA), Turkey, Cyprus, the Maldives, and other Mediterranean regions.

These studies show that unregulated tourism has severe effects on turtle egg-laying behaviour. In the long term, such changes in nesting patterns may lead to a decline in turtle populations across marine ecosystems.

Why should we be alarmed about declining turtle numbers?

Apart from being cultural symbols or pop-culture icons, such as the Mutant Ninjas, turtles play a significant role in marine biodiversity and ecosystems. Turtles provide high economic and intrinsic value to the local communities and act as indicators of a healthy marine ecosystem.

Through their dietary patterns and cleaning behaviours, they help sustain marine biodiversity by reducing jellyfish blooms, regulating plankton populations, preserving aquatic food chains, and maintaining the seafloor and coral reefs. Disruptions to these processes can eventually affect Sri Lanka’s blue economy, which contributes around 1.3% to national GDP through wild and unorganised fisheries, with further growth expected in the coming decade.

The fisheries sector employs around 1.4 million Sri Lankans and makes up 50% of the protein intake for the citizens. Moreover, Sri Lanka’s latest national budget has allotted LKR 100 million for the establishment and advancement of the Blue Economy sector. This highlights the importance of turtles for the blue economy and underscores the risks posed to shrimp culture and fish production.

While the turtle-based eco-tourism focus is a global trend, several hidden challenges remain if implementation is not carried out with adequate caution and regulation. Without these migratory marine reptiles to preserve food webs and maintain ocean floor habitats, fisheries and aquaculture industries would be threatened, leading to setbacks in the blue economy.

While the government views mass nesting as a tourist attraction, coastal ecosystems must remain protected and attractive to turtle nesting.