Early July tourist arrivals recover from June pace, but remain below last year

Thursday, 9 July 2026 05:42 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Arrivals during first six days down 3.6% YoY; YTD visitors decline 2% YoY to 1.18 m
India largest YTD source at 26%, followed by UK, Russia

Sri Lanka’s tourism sector recorded a stronger start to July compared to the previous month, although visitor arrivals remained below the levels achieved during the same period last year, reflecting the industry’s continued struggle to regain growth momentum.

Provisional data from the first six days of July showed that Sri Lanka welcomed 34,721 tourists, a 3.6% year-on-year (YoY) decline compared to the corresponding period in 2025.

Daily average arrivals improved to 5,786 visitors, up sharply from 3,889 recorded during the first six days of June. However, the figure remained below the 6,000 daily arrivals registered during the corresponding period of July last year.

India retained its position as Sri Lanka’s largest source market, contributing 8,192 visitors, accounting for 24% of total arrivals during the first six days of July.

The UK ranked second with 3,136 tourists (9%), followed by Australia with 2,640 visitors (8%), China with 2,194 (6%), and Germany with 1,538 tourists (4%).

With the latest inflows, year-to-date (YTD) tourist arrivals surpassed 1.18 million, although cumulative arrivals remained 2% lower than the corresponding period of 2025.

India also became the first source market to surpass the 300,000-visitor milestone this year, sending 301,875 tourists to Sri Lanka, accounting for 26% of total arrivals recorded so far in 2026.

The UK remained the second largest source market with 111,703 visitors (9%), while China overtook Russia to secure third place with 78,365 tourists (7%). Russia slipped to fourth with 77,727 visitors, also accounting for 7% of total arrivals.

Sri Lanka is targeting 3 million tourist arrivals and $ 4 billion in tourism earnings by the end of 2026, although the latest figures suggest the industry will need stronger momentum during the second half of the year to achieve those ambitious goals.