November tourism earnings fall despite record visitor influx

• November earnings down 8.5% YoY to $ 251.6 m; expose growing gap between record visitor arrivals and weak spending
• Earnings remain $ 115.5 m below November 2018
• YTD earnings up 3.7% YoY to $ 2.9 b, but remain 34.2% lower than same period in 2018

Sri Lanka’s tourism sector continued to struggle to translate rising visitor arrivals into stronger economic returns, with earnings in November 2025 falling sharply despite a record influx of tourists. 

Latest data released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) shows that tourism earnings in November declined 8.5% year-on-year (YoY) to $ 251.6 million, highlighting a growing disconnect between arrival volumes and actual visitor spending.

The November performance also remains well below pre-crisis benchmarks. In November 2018, Sri Lanka earned $ 367.1 million from tourism, which is $ 115.5 million more than the latest figure, underscoring the depth of the revenue gap even as arrivals recover.

Cumulatively, the sector generated over $ 2.9 billion in the first 11 months of 2025, marking a modest 3.7% YoY increase. However, this total is still 34.2% lower than the $ 3.9 billion recorded during the same period in 2018, the year Sri Lanka achieved its highest-ever annual tourism revenue of $ 4.38 billion. 

On a monthly basis, tourism earnings have averaged around $ 264.6 million so far this year.

The weak revenue performance contrasts sharply with arrivals data. Sri Lanka welcomed a record 212,906 tourists in November 2025, the highest-ever for the month, representing a 16% YoY increase and surpassing the previous November record of 195,582 set in 2018. Despite this surge, revenue growth has remained subdued, reinforcing concerns about declining per-visitor spend.

Monthly earnings data for 2025 further illustrate ongoing volatility. Revenue fell by 3% in July to $ 318.5 million compared to $ 328.3 million a year earlier, followed by a steeper 8.2% decline in August to $ 258.9 million. September saw only a marginal recovery, with earnings rising by just 1% to $ 182.9 million. The strongest performance of the year was recorded in January, when tourism earnings reached $ 400.66 million, driven by early-season demand and marking the highest monthly inflow since 2020.

Revisions to visitor spending estimates have also weighed on revenue expectations. The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), which had relied on spending assumptions from a 2018 survey, revised its per-day tourist spending estimate downward from $ 171 to $ 148 following a comprehensive reassessment completed in August 2025. 

The updated analysis was based on a 12-month national airport exit survey conducted from July 2024 to June 2025 by the SLTDA, with support from Australia’s Market Development Facility (MDF), providing fresh insights into traveller demographics, motivations, and actual spending patterns.

Against this backdrop, Sri Lanka Tourism has scaled back its revenue ambitions. Acknowledging the growing difficulty of achieving its earlier year-end target of $ 5 billion, the authorities revised the 2025 revenue goal to $ 3 billion last month, a figure now considered attainable. 

Under the 2026 Budget, the Government has also adjusted its longer-term outlook, reducing the tourism revenue target for 2030 to $ 8 billion from the previously projected $ 10 billion, signalling a shift towards more realistic expectations amid a slower-than-anticipated recovery in tourist spending.