July arrivals hit six-year high, but 2025 target elusive

Monday, 4 August 2025 05:12 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka welcomes 200,244 tourists in July, up 7% YoY
Misses monthly target for seventh consecutive month, as July falls short by 76,951 visitors
YTD arrivals reach over 1.36 m, up 14.2% YoY; 1.4% still lower compared to benchmark 2018
India remains top market in July, trailed by UK and Netherlands
SL must attract over 1.36 m tourists in next five months to meet 3 m target
Industry warns momentum is insufficient without urgent marketing and visa-free implementations

Sri Lanka welcomed 200,244 tourists in July, registering a 7% year-on-year (YoY) growth and marking the highest monthly arrivals since 2018.

The strong performance, driven by end-of-month momentum, reflects renewed interest buoyed by Sri Lanka recently being ranked no. 1 on the 2025 list of “The 50 Best Islands in the World” by international travel platform Big 7 Travel—an accolade that offers valuable visibility amid the absence of coordinated promotion.

However, the country fell short of its ambitious monthly target of 277,195 arrivals, missing it by 76,951 tourists. The July figure also trails the benchmark set in July 2018 when the country welcomed 217,829 visitors, falling short of 17,585. Although the performance shows resilience, particularly in a globally competitive tourism landscape, the gap highlights the ongoing challenges Sri Lanka faces in fully restoring its pre-crisis visitor volumes.

Throughout the month, arrival numbers built steadily, starting with 42,233 visitors in the first week, rising to 44,262 in the second, 46,469 in the third, and culminating with a surge of 67,280 tourists in the final week. This translated to an average of 6,459 daily arrivals, higher than 6,058 registered in the same period in 2024.

July arrivals pushed the year-to-date (YTD) figure to over 1.36 million, marking a 14.2% increase YoY. However, compared to the benchmark year 2018, when the country had received over 1.38 million arrivals by end-July, the current figure remains 1.4% lower.

India continues to dominate as Sri Lanka’s top source market, contributing 37,128 visitors in July (18.5%) alone, and 279,122 tourists YTD. In July, India was followed by the UK, the Netherlands, China, and France. For the cumulative YTD period, the UK and Russia ranked behind India.

Despite July’s strong figures, industry stakeholders remain concerned over the lack of strategic promotion. Although the Government recently announced a plan to extend visa-free travel to nationals of 40 countries, it has not yet provided a clear timeline for implementation. Meanwhile, tourism authorities have yet to launch a global destination marketing campaign or a nation branding strategy—two long-promised initiatives that the sector views as critical to sustain growth, especially heading into the winter season.

As Sri Lanka pushes towards its annual target of 3 million tourists and $ 5 billion in tourism revenue, July’s performance offers a measure of encouragement. However, to achieve these ambitious targets, the country still needs to attract over 1.36 million visitors or 54% before the end of the year. Along with mounting frustration over stalled promotional efforts, the industry suggests that policy execution, rather than external perception, may be the greater barrier to reaching these ambitious goals.

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.