Sri Lanka tourist arrivals recovers 8% during May

Sri Lanka’s tourism industry regained its growth momentum in May despite earlier indications of moderating visitor inflows, with tourist arrivals during the first 24 days of the month rising 8.31% year-on-year (YoY).

Latest data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) showed that the country welcomed 113,755 visitors between 1 and 24 May, compared to 105,026 arrivals during the corresponding period last year. The improved May performance so far also pushed the year-to-date (YTD) arrivals to 990,032 tourists, narrowing the overall decline to a marginal 1.2% compared to the same period in 2025.

The latest figures suggest that Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is now moving closer to surpassing the one million tourist arrival milestone for 2026. The figures indicate a gradual strengthening in monthly arrival momentum after several months of subdued performance amid geopolitical tensions.

Although tourist inflows reflected a declining weekly pattern through May, overall daily averages remained stronger than last year. Sri Lanka registered 33,515 arrivals during the first week of May, followed by 29,342 in the second week, 30,975 in the third week and 19,923 arrivals between 22 and 24 May. Average daily arrivals rose to 4,740 visitors compared to 4,376 recorded during the corresponding period in 2025. The highest single-day arrival figure for the month was reported on 23 May, when 7,310 tourists entered the country.

India continued to dominate as Sri Lanka’s largest source market during the first 24 days of May, contributing 46,998 visitors and accounting for 41% of total arrivals during the period ahead of other major source markets, including the UK with 7,287 visitors, China with 7,250, Germany with 5,782 and Australia with 5,167 arrivals. On a cumulative basis, India generated 236,916 tourists so far this year, representing around 24% of total arrivals to Sri Lanka. The UK ranked as the second-largest source market with 96,132 arrivals, accounting for around 10% of the market share, while Russia followed with 75,816 visitors contributing roughly 8% of total arrivals YTD.