09.01.202601:27:14UTC+00Sri Lanka Tourist Arrivals Up 4.2% in December

In December 2025, the number of foreign tourists visiting Sri Lanka increased by 4.2% compared to the same month the previous year, reaching a total of 258,928 arrivals. This growth represented a slowdown from the 15.6% rise observed in November. The modest increase can be attributed to the widespread devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah, which impacted approximately 269 tourists. Despite these challenges, December's arrivals were 2.3% higher than the 253,169 visitors recorded in December 2018, the last year before the country's tourism sector encountered disruptions such as the Easter attacks, the pandemic, and civil protests. Among major source markets, India maintained its position as the largest contributor, making up 22% of total arrivals in December. This was followed by Russia, which accounted for 11%, the United Kingdom at 8%, and Germany making up 6% of visitors. For the entire year of 2025, the total number of tourist arrivals was 2,362,521, representing a 15.1% increase from the previous year. However, this figure still fell short of the government's target of 3 million visitors.