Sri Lanka has crossed the one million mark in international tourist arrivals this year, nearly a month earlier than last year, signalling a strong post-pandemic recovery. Provisional data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) showed 1,006,097 visitors recorded between January 1 and May 25.
India continued to lead as the top source market in May, contributing 35.8% of arrivals, followed by the UK and China. Sri Lanka has now met 33.5% of its 3 million visitor target for the year.
The last time the one million mark was achieved in May 2018, which was before the Easter attacks and the Covid pandemic that slowed down the tourism market. Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath marked the achievement on social media platform X, thanking industry stakeholders.
