Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange earnings from tourism rose by 2.1 percent year-on-year in August 2026 to reach US$264.4 million, marking the first monthly increase after a 10-month period of consecutive declines, according to data reported by the Sri Lanka Central Bank and sourced from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.
Despite the rise in revenue, monthly tourist arrivals fell 3.3 percent in August 2026 compared to the same month in the previous year. Total tourism earnings from January to August 2026 dropped 10 percent to US$2,061.1 million, down from US$2,290 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Tourist arrivals during
the first eight months of 2026 showed a 2 percent decrease compared to 2025.
In May 2026, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority revised the methodology used to estimate monthly tourism earnings, applying the changes retroactively from January 2026. This revision included adjustments to the calculated daily average spending per tourist and the average duration of stay, which the authority said was necessary to improve the accuracy and representativeness of the earnings estimates. The alteration contributed to the ongoing reported tourism revenue decline since October 2025.
Following these trends, Sri Lanka lowered its 2026 annual tourist arrival target from 3
million to 2.7 million visitors and reduced its annual revenue target from US$5 billion to US$4.2 billion.
In 2025, Sri Lanka generated US$3.22 billion in tourism revenue, a 1.6 percent increase from US$3.17 billion in 2024. The country recorded a record 2,362,521 tourist arrivals in 2025, up 15.1 percent from 2,053,465 arrivals in 2024.
Tourism’s contribution to Sri Lanka’s economy peaked at nearly 5 percent in 2018. The sector has since faced setbacks including the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide attacks, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and the economic crisis that followed.
The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority gathers its tourism
earnings data through surveys. The Central Bank’s report on August 2026 figures reflects updated methodology and the recent trends in revenue and arrivals.
Raynal Wickremeratne, Head of Research and Strategy at NDB Securities, noted improvements in market sentiment following the tourism data, stating, “If you look at the exact point where the market inflection was, it changed and went up after that news came out into the market.” He added, “In spite of global challenges and inflation concerns across emerging markets, the fact that our rating is increasing is a strong sign of recovery from a domestic perspective.”
