According to official data, the country welcomed 158,971 tourists in September, surpassing the previous record of 149,087 set in 2018. The figure reflects a 30.2% increase compared to the 122,140 arrivals in September 2024.
Cumulative arrivals for the first nine months of 2025 reached 1,725,494, underscoring strong growth across key tourism markets.
India emerged as the largest source market in September, contributing 49,697 visitors—31.3% of the total—up sharply from 27,884 in the same month last year. The United Kingdom followed with 10,752 arrivals (6.8%), while China ranked third with 10,527 arrivals (6.6%).
For the January–September period, India also maintained its dominance with 375,292 visitors, ahead of the United Kingdom (161,893) and the Russian Federation (122,144).
With this momentum, the industry is now working toward the government’s revised annual target of 2.6 million arrivals. To achieve this, Sri Lanka must attract 874,506 more visitors in the final quarter—an average of around 291,500 per month. This exceeds the country’s best monthly performance so far in 2025, which was 252,761 arrivals in January.
By comparison, Sri Lanka drew 601,874 tourists during the final quarter of 2018, averaging about 200,625 per month, while in 2024, the same period saw 568,657 visitors.
Despite delays in launching a major global promotion campaign and rebranding initiative, Sri Lanka has continued to attract international attention. The island was recently named the number one destination to visit in October by global travel magazine Time Out and won two prestigious titles—Leading MICE Destination and Leading Wellness Destination—at the South Asian Travel Awards 2025.
Industry experts, however, caution that while organic publicity has boosted visibility, attracting the right mix of tourists remains a critical challenge.
