📈 Sri Lanka Tourism Hits 1 Million Arrivals Mark

Sri Lanka's tourism sector crossed a major milestone on 28 May, fueled by strong growth in May, though cumulative year-to-date figures dipped slightly. • Overall Figures (Provisional Data): • Total year-to-date (YTD) arrivals reached 1.01 million tourists between 1 January and 28 May. • This reflects a marginal 1% year-on-year (YoY) decline compared to the same period in 2025. • Over the next seven months, the industry requires an additional 2 million visitors (66.3% of the target) to meet the ambitious annual goal of 3 million arrivals. • May Performance Surge: • Arrivals for the first 28 days of May reached 134,530, marking a strong 12% YoY increase from 120,120. • Daily average arrivals for May climbed to 4,805, up from 4,290 in the previous year. • Top Source Markets: • India remains the dominant driver for tourism, leading May arrivals with 56,063 visitors (42% share) and leading YTD arrivals at 245,981. • The UK secured the second spot for both May arrivals (8,582 or 6%) and YTD travelers (97,427). • China followed as the third largest market for May with 8,439 visitors (6%), while Russia held the third spot for YTD arrivals with 75,963 tourists.