Tourism earnings, arrivals decline in March

Tourism earnings continued to weaken, with March marking the first decline in visitor arrivals after several months of growth.

Sri Lanka earned USD 352.0 million from tourism in March 2026, compared to USD 367.6 million in the same month last year, reflecting a 4.9% indicating a continued slowdown in momentum.

Visitor arrivals also fell sharply. The country recorded 183,979 tourists in March 2026, down from 229,298 arrivals in March 2025, a drop of nearly 50,000 visitors.

Meanwhile, workers’ remittances maintained an upward trend, reaching USD 814.8 million in March 2026. This compares with USD 729.0 million in February 2026 and USD 693.3 million in March 2025, providing some support to external inflows.