Sri Lanka saw 26,889 tourists arrive in the first four days of August 2024, pushing the total visitor count for the year to 1,224,948. The recent India-Sri Lanka cricket series and the launch of IndiGo Airlines’ daily service from Chennai to Jaffna have contributed to this influx, particularly boosting Indian tourist numbers.
India led the arrival figures in early August with 3,922 visitors, accounting for 14.6% of the total, followed by the United Kingdom with 3,350 arrivals (12.5%) and China with 2,262 (8.4%).
Sri Lanka’s peak visitor count was in 2018, with 2,333,796 arrivals. In 2023, the number was 1,487,303. So far in 2024, the country has consistently surpassed monthly arrival figures from 2023 by over 30%.
The top five source markets for Sri Lanka from January to date are India (229,563), the Russian Federation (119,294), the United Kingdom (113,539), Germany (82,419), and China (79,118). Tourism earnings for the year currently exceed USD 1.6 billion.