Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals in 2026 surpass 500,000
February 24, 2026 05:23 pm
The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) says that the total number of foreign tourist arrivals to the island has crossed the 500,000-mark so far this year.
According to the latest data release by the SLTDA, a total of 505,751 tourists visited Sri Lanka between January 01 and February 22, 2026.
The statistics further reveal that 228,424 tourists arrived in the country from February 01 to 22, 2026.
Significantly, weekly arrivals during the first three weeks of February have each exceeded 70,000 visitors.
Accordingly, the first week of February 2026 recorded 70,355 arrivals, followed by 77,870 in the second week and 71,101 in the third week.
Indian tourists accounted for the largest number of arrivals so far this year, totaling 89,277 visitors. The second highest nationality are British nationals (55,407), followed by Russian nationals (45,351), Germans (35,413) and Chinese nationals (31,621).
The SLTDA further noted that a large number of visitors also arrived from countries, including France, Australia and the Netherlands.
