Friday Jul 10, 2026
Friday Jul 10, 2026
Friday, 10 July 2026 00:21 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
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| Tourism Deputy Minister Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe |
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| SLTPB Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam |
By Charumini de Silva
Sri Lanka has revised down its ambitious 2026 tourism targets, with Tourism Deputy Minister Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe yesterday attributing the downgrade to the fallout from the Middle East conflict, which disrupted air connectivity and dampened visitor arrivals.
The Government now expects to attract 2.5 million tourist arrivals and generate $ 3.5 billion in tourism earnings by the end of 2026, down from the original targets of 3 million visitors and $ 4 billion in revenue.
Speaking at a media briefing, Prof. Ranasinghe expressed hope that 2026 will still be a record-breaking year in terms of arrivals.
He said Sri Lanka had begun the year on a strong footing, with January recording a historic performance and arrivals growing 17% year-on-year (YoY), followed by a further 16% increase in February.
However, he said the escalation of the Middle East conflict significantly disrupted global aviation, particularly through the temporary closure of regional airspace, affecting Sri Lanka’s key long-haul transit routes.
“Several airspaces in the Middle East were closed and nearly 2,000 flights and 1,000 arrivals and departures were cancelled. This had a significant impact on Sri Lanka’s tourism performance,” he explained.
Prof. Ranasinghe noted that, at the start of the year, the Government had prepared three scenarios for tourism performance: a baseline projection of over 2.5 million arrivals, an optimistic target of 2.7 million, and a best-case scenario of 3 million visitors.
“Considering the developments over the past few months, we now believe that if conditions continue to improve, we can still achieve around 2.5 million tourist arrivals by the end of the year,” he said.
Despite the setback, the Deputy Minister expressed confidence that the sector would recover during the second half of the year, supported by improved airline connectivity and an expanded tourism promotion program.
He outlined that several new airlines are preparing to commence services to Sri Lanka, while existing carriers are expanding operations.
The new entrants include Vietnam Airlines, VietJet, Australian low-cost carrier Jetstar, British Airways, European charter operators French Bee, S7 Airlines (JSC Siberia Airlines), and Ukraine’s Supernova Airlines. In addition, Turkish Airlines, Emirates, and Qatar Airways have increased their flight frequencies. He also noted that discussions are underway to explore the launch of services by Bangla Airlines and Centrum Air.
Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam said that with improved airline connectivity, Sri Lanka could achieve its revenue targets by attracting around 200,000 visitors per month, including 75,000 to 100,000 high-spending Indian travellers.
He also said that Swiss airlines, carriers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region, and airlines from Poland have assured early commencement of their winter charter flight operations, enabling Sri Lanka to attract more visitors during the peak winter holiday season.
