Sri Lanka’s tourism sector has faced various challenges over the past five years, with tourist arrivals in January reaching an all-time high for the month.
The island started the year off on a strong note, welcoming over 250,000 international tourists.
According to provisional data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), 252,761 tourists visited the country throughout January.
This marks the 21st consecutive month of visible arrivals for January 2024 and a 5.8% increase over January 2018. This is considered the best year ever for Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, which ended with 2.33 million arrivals.
With this achievement, January 2025 is now ranked as the second highest month for tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka. The highest ever recorded was 253,169 in December 2018.
Average arrivals in January 2025 increased to 8,153, with a weekly average of 63,190.
India maintained its position as the largest source of tourist arrivals for Sri Lanka, accounting for 17.2% of total arrivals. The Russian Federation came in second with 13.5 and the United Kingdom with 8.6.
Other major source markets included China, the island, France, Australia, Poland, the United States and the Netherlands.
For 2025, the SLTDA has set a target of attracting three million international tourists and generating US$5 billion in revenue.
The SLTDA has not yet released its official monthly targets or projected growth for the year. Currently, the highest tourist arrivals are expected in January, February, March, July, August and December.
