Tourism earnings keep declines again despite rise in arrivals

Sri Lanka's tourism earnings continued to decline sharply in 2026 despite an increase in visitor arrivals, raising concerns over lower spending by tourists.

According to available data, tourism earnings in April 2026 amounted to US$157.1 million, compared with US$256.7 million recorded in April 2025, reflecting a significant year-on-year decline of 38.8%.

For the first four months of 2026, tourism earnings totalled US$1.111 billion, down from US$1.379 billion recorded during the corresponding period of 2025, representing a decline of 19.4%.

The fall in earnings comes despite an increase in tourist arrivals. Sri Lanka welcomed 145,745 visitors in May 2026, compared with 132,919 arrivals in May 2025.

Cumulative arrivals from January to May 2026 reached 1,022,022 visitors, indicating continued growth in tourist numbers even as revenue generated from the sector weakened.

The figures suggest that while Sri Lanka is attracting more visitors, average spending per tourist has declined, resulting in lower overall earnings for the industry.