Sri Lanka has revised its 2025 tourist arrival forecast from 3 million to 2.6 million, citing current trends and a more pragmatic outlook. The announcement was made by Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam at the South Asian Travel Awards 2025 forum in Colombo.
Despite the downgrade, Hewawasam said 2.6 million arrivals would mark a “historical high” and signal strong sectoral recovery. So far this year, Sri Lanka has received 1.66 million tourists and earned around USD 3.4 billion in tourism revenue.
Hewawasam emphasized regional collaboration, suggesting Sri Lanka and the Maldives could complement each other. Maldives tourism head Abdulla Ghiyas echoed the sentiment, calling for joint initiatives like regional visas and marketing to strengthen South Asia’s position in global tourism.
“With 60% of the world’s population in Asia, this is a shift in global demand,” Ghiyas said. “Collaboration is the way forward.”
