Sri Lanka Tourism tops 1.2 m arrivals amidst sluggish July start

Thursday, 10 July 2025 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

First eight days of July welcome 48,300 tourists, down from 50,141 in 2024 during critical summer travel window
Sri Lanka needs 1.78 m more visitors to meet 3 m target
Daily July arrivals must rise 65% to meet monthly goal of 277,195
YTD arrivals up by 15%; India leads source markets, followed by Russia and UK
Monthly average arrivals must reach 297,000 to hit 2025 target, vs. 252,761 peak in January so far
Industry warns current pace insufficient to reach targets without urgent action

By Charumini de Silva

Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has crossed the 1.2 million mark in arrivals for 2025, with 48,300 tourists visiting the country in the first eight days of July.

This brings the year-to-date (YTD) figure to 1,216,344 arrivals, a 15% year-on-year (YoY) increase. However, with an ambitious target of 3 million arrivals and $ 5 billion in revenue set for the year, the country must attract over 1.78 million (1,783,656) tourists or nearly 60% of the full-year goal over the second half of 2025.

As per the latest data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), the momentum in early July has slowed compared to the same period in 2024. During the first eight days of July 2025, average daily arrivals stood at 6,038, down from 6,268 visitors in the same period last year. In absolute terms, arrivals between 1 to 8 July this year declined by 1,841 from 50,141 in 2024 to 48,300 this year, highlighting early signs of stagnation during a critical summer travel window.

The SLTDA has projected 277,195 arrivals for the month of July. With only 48,300 visitors welcomed in the first eight days, the country now needs to bring in an additional 228,895 travellers over the remaining 23 days of the month—an average of 9,956 arrivals per day. This requires a 65% increase in daily arrivals compared to the month’s early arrival figures, which is a steep challenge, even with the seasonal bump expected during the Kandy Esala Perahera—one of the country’s key tourist

draws.

India continues to dominate as the top source market for Sri Lanka, sending 10,153 tourists during the first eight days of July and accounting for 252,147 arrivals YTD. It is followed by Russia (112,939) and the UK (112,762), with the latter also sending 4,860 visitors in early July. Australia (3,310), China (3,181), and France (2,335) rounded out the top source markets during this period.

Despite the overall positive YTD growth so far, analysts warn that current trends are insufficient to meet annual targets. The industry requires an average of around 297,000 arrivals per month for the rest of the year to reach the 3 million mark, a rate well above what’s been achieved so far in 2025. The 252,761 tourists in January remain the highest monthly arrivals so far in 2025.

With no major global promotional efforts in place and continued dependence on seasonal spikes and individual source markets, the Government faces mounting pressure to convert interest into arrivals. The setbacks behind policy announcements have also raised concerns among industry leaders. Although Sri Lanka has made commendable progress in its post-crisis recovery, the current pace of arrivals will not be enough to hit 3 million visitors or generate the $ 5 billion in income without urgent reforms.

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