Sri Lanka’s tourism industry ended 2024 on a high note, recording over 2.05 million arrivals, reflecting a remarkable 38.07% year-on-year (YoY) growth. Although the final tally fell short of the revised target by just 2.2%, the performance marked the highest annual figure since 2019 and underscored the sector’s resilience after facing significant challenges over the past five years.
Despite this achievement, the 2024 arrivals were still 12% lower than the record-breaking 2.3 million in 2018. December 2024 stood out as a key month, recording 248,592 arrivals — an 18.18% increase compared to December 2023. This made it the highest monthly performance of the year and the best December figures since the Easter Sunday attacks, although slightly below the record 253,169 arrivals in December 2018.
The daily arrivals in December also set a new milestone at 8,019 visitors, up from 6,139 in November.
India maintained its status as Sri Lanka’s largest source market with 416,974 visitors, representing 20.3% of total arrivals. Other major contributors included the Russian Federation (201,920 or 9.8%), the UK (178,339 or 8.7%), Germany (136,084 or 6.6%), and China (131,681 or 6.4%).
Tourism earnings for 2024 are projected to have exceeded $3 billion, a significant improvement from $2.1 billion in 2023. This recovery echoes the robust growth witnessed in 2010, when the sector rebounded with a record 46.1% growth post-conflict.
Challenges such as delays in launching a global marketing campaign and visa-related issues, however, prevented the industry from meeting its revised target of 2.1 million arrivals. Stakeholders remain optimistic, highlighting that the gains in 2024 position Sri Lanka for stronger growth in the coming years.
Looking ahead, Sri Lanka Tourism aims to attract 3 million arrivals and generate $5 billion in income in 2025. A five-year plan is also in place to bring in over 5 million visitors annually and achieve revenue of $8.5–10 billion. To support these ambitions, a unified national brand is set to be launched this month, replacing campaign-specific taglines, to elevate Sri Lanka’s global appeal and maximize return on investment (RoI).