Foreign tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka declined by 1.7% year-on-year to 196,845 in July 2026, following a 9.9% drop in June. Despite this marking the fourth monthly year-on-year contraction so far this year, arrivals showed a recovery from June’s 124,551.
India remained the largest source market, contributing 44,547 visitors and accounting for 23% of total arrivals. It was followed by the United Kingdom (21,834), the Netherlands (12,493), China (12,336), France (10,102), and Australia (9,702).
Sri Lanka has set an ambitious target of 3 million tourist arrivals for 2026, after missing its goal last year. However, tourist arrivals reached 1,343,418 in the first seven months of 2026, down 1.8% from the same period a year earlier, underscoring weaker performance in recent months amid disruptions stemming from the Middle East conflict.
