Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka have surpassed the one million mark for 2026, according to the latest data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA).
The SLTDA stated that a total of 1,010,807 tourists visited the country between January 1 and May 28, 2026.
According to the statistics, 134,530 tourists have arrived in the country so far during the month of May.
India continued to dominate as Sri Lanka’s largest tourism source market, accounting for 56,063 arrivals in May alone. The United Kingdom ranked second with 8,582 visitors, while China recorded 8,439 arrivals during the same period.
Cumulative figures for 2026 show that India remains the leading source market with 245,981 arrivals, followed by the United Kingdom with 97,427 tourists and Russia with 75,963 visitors.
The highest monthly tourist arrivals recorded this year were in February, when 277,327 tourists visited Sri Lanka.
However, the latest figures also indicate that monthly tourist arrivals have gradually declined since February, highlighting emerging challenges for the tourism sector despite the overall growth trend.
Tourism remains one of Sri Lanka’s key foreign exchange earners as the country continues efforts to strengthen economic recovery through increased visitor arrivals.
