Sri Lanka crosses 900,000 arrivals mark in 2025

Thursday, 8 May 2025 05:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has surpassed 900,000 tourist arrivals for this year, enhancing the optimism in the sector of achieving the ambitious goal of 3 million tourists by year-end.

The milestone was crossed on 1 May with the arrival of 6,311 visitors, bringing the total to 903,105.

This achievement highlights robust growth in the sector, as it marks a threshold previously reached only in June 2024.

As per the latest data shared by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), as of 4 May, the year-to-date (YTD) arrivals figure has climbed to 917,406 with the footfall of 20,522 tourists during the first four days of the month.

The SLTDA projects 165,118 arrivals for the month of May, aiming to regain monthly momentum despite having missed monthly targets for the first four months of 2025, and not exceeding the 250,000 arrivals mark per month since February.

From 1 to 4 May, India, the UK, and China emerged as the leading source markets.

For the full year 2025, Sri Lanka Tourism is targeting 3 million tourist arrivals and a $ 5 billion revenue goal, a target that remains ambitious at this point.