Sri Lanka tourist arrivals fall 10% in June

• First half performance hits 1.14mn

Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals recorded a 9.9 percent year-on-year decline in June 2026, totalling 124,551 visitors compared to the 138,241 arrivals registered during the same month last year. 

According to the latest data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), June arrivals also represented a 15.1 percent contraction when compared with June 2018 arrivals of 146,828. June’s decline reversed the modest rebound seen in May.

Cumulative arrivals for the first half of the year (January to June 2026) reached 1,146,573 visitors, a marginal decline compared to the first half of 2025, which saw a total of 1,168,044 arrivals. The first half of 2026 was characterised by a strong start, with January and February posting growth rates of 9.7 percent and 16.2 percent respectively, before facing significant double-digit contractions in March and April. While May saw a temporary 9.65 percent rebound, the momentum did not carry into June.

In terms of weekly distribution within the month, the final full week of June proved to be the strongest period. The SLTDA report indicates that tourist arrivals between June 22 and 28 peaked at 32,519 visitors, driven primarily by strong daily inflows on June 26 and 27, which brought in 5,421 and 5,016 tourists respectively. This compared favourably with the first week of the month, which brought in 27,043 visitors, and the second week, which brought in 27,423 visitors.

India continued to firmly establish itself as Sri Lanka’s primary tourist generating market, accounting for a commanding 35 percent share of total arrivals in June with 43,423 tourists. The United Kingdom secured the second position with 10,474 arrivals, capturing an 8 percent market share, closely followed by Australia and China, each generating over 8,000 visitors for a 7 percent share. The United States, France, and Germany rounded out the mid-tier performance, contributing roughly 3 percent each to the monthly total.

Looking at the picture for the first six months of 2026, India remains the undisputed leader with 293,683 arrivals, followed by the United Kingdom with 108,567 visitors. The Russian Federation holds the third spot overall with 77,349 tourists, despite not being in the top source markets for the specific month of June. China and Germany completed the cumulative top five source markets for the first half of the year, bringing in 76,171 and 69,758 tourists respectively.