Sri Lanka tourism crosses 1.5 m arrivals

Monday, 18 August 2025 01:58 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Tourists at the iconic attraction Nine Arch Bridge in Ella, a popular site among locals too - Pic by Upul Abayasekara

August projected at 248,279 arrivals, likely to beat 2024 and all-time monthly record in 2018
Industry stakeholders say upcoming peak season is critical to achieve 3 m arrivals target by end-2025
Says free-visa implementation delays, no global campaign, uneven infrastructure could threaten targets

Sri Lanka’s tourism sector continues to demonstrate strong momentum, registering over 100,000 arrivals in the first half of August and surpassing 1.5 million visitors so far in 2025, a milestone reached two months earlier than last year.

Tourism stakeholders view the 1.5 million milestone as a confidence booster for the industry, which is targeting 3 million arrivals by the end of 2025.

With nearly half of the year’s target already achieved in just over seven months, they insisted that the momentum in the coming peak season will be crucial to meeting these ambitious goals.

Although the numbers show momentum, resilience, and potential, they opined that the policy vacuum, delayed free-visa reform implementation, absent global marketing, and uneven infrastructure threaten to derail the country’s most ambitious targets in a decade.

The month of August, traditionally one of the peak months for tourism because of the annual Kandy Esala Perahera, is a key driver of arrivals uptick. The festival helped boost footfall by 17.1% year-on-year (YoY) during the first 13 days of August compared to the same period in 2024.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) projects 248,279 visitors for August 2025 and, if current trends continue, the month is on track to comfortably surpass both the 164,609 arrivals recorded in August 2024 and the all-time monthly high of 200,359 in August 2018.

India continued to dominate as the top source market, contributing 19,572 arrivals (20%) during the first 13 days of August. The UK followed with 10,970 arrivals, while Italy surged to third place with 7,641 arrivals. France (6,870) and China (6,762) rounded off the top five markets for the month.

On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, India leads with 298,694 arrivals, followed by the UK (142,347), Russia (117,322), Germany (91,021), and China (85,531).