Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka top 131,000 in first 15 days of January
Daily FT: The tourism industry is experiencing a striking influx as the country welcomed over 131,000 tourists in the first 15 days of the month, kicking off 2026 on an optimistic note.
The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) released provisional figures last week, indicating that 131,898 tourists were welcomed in the first half of the month, registering a 9.43% year-on-year (YoY) increase compared to including cruise ship arrivals.
From 1 to 15 July, average daily arrivals stood at 8,793 up from 8,040 visitors in the same period last year. The highest daily arrivals so far was registered on 15 January with 10,483 visitors.
India leads the arrivals during the first 15 days of the month with 23,786 or 18% of the total arrivals, followed by Russia with 14,785 (11%) and the UK with 12,166 (9%).
In addition, visitors from Germany, France, Australia, China, Poland, the US, and the Netherlands were also welcomed.
OSL take:
The fact that Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is on a steady growth path is evident by the number of arrivals recorded during the first two weeks of January. These numbers would see further growth as Sri Lanka figures prominently in many leading travel and tourism publications as well as being identified as a must visit tourist destination. However, the steady growth in the number of foreign travelers visiting the country has resulted in an expansion of the country’s tourism industry resulting in a growth in business/investment opportunities. These opportunities range from the development of infrastructure and supplementary infrastructure facilities required to meet the increasing demand and cover many sectors under the tourism industry like leisure and hospitality. Businesses already engaged in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry have shown strong growth and profits while many international leisure and hospitality brands have expressed interest in entering the country. Given all these positive developments, foreign businesses/investors could confidently explore the expanding business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry and related sectors.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20260120/Z_2 |