According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the country’s foreign exchange revenue from tourism in December 2025 experienced a 14.8% decline compared to the previous year, amounting to US$308.6 million. This information is based on data from the tourism promotion authority.
Officials have indicated that since August of the previous year, the nation’s tourism revenue has been consistently lower. This trend follows the revision of daily tourism spending estimates by the relevant authorities. Over the past six months, monthly revenue has decreased four times, specifically in July and August, before seeing slight improvements over the subsequent two months.
Despite a 4.2% increase in tourist arrivals, totaling 258,928 in December, the tourism revenue, which contributes nearly 3% to Sri Lanka’s economy, still faced a decline. In July, revenue dropped by 3% to US$318.5 million from the previous year’s US$328.3 million, and in August, it decreased by 8.2% to US$258.9 million.
For the year 2025, overall tourism earnings rose by 1.6% to US$6.22 billion compared to the previous year. However, Sri Lanka did not meet its ambitious targets for 2026, which included a revenue goal of US$5 billion and 3 million tourist arrivals.
Unexpectedly, tourist arrivals in December increased despite significant disruptions in the Central Sri Lankan districts of Kandy and Nuwara Eliya. In 2024, Sri Lanka’s tourism revenue stood at US$3.17 billion, marking a substantial 53.2% increase from the previous year’s US$2.07 billion.
Tourist arrivals grew by 15.1% in 2025 compared to the prior year, with 2,362,521 foreign visitors compared to 2,053,465 previously. At its peak in 2018, tourism accounted for nearly 5% of Sri Lanka’s economy. However, the sector has faced numerous challenges since then, including the violent Easter Sunday attacks in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and a severe economic crisis.
The tourism earnings figures are derived from a survey conducted by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. The survey led to a reduction in daily spending per tourist from US$171 to US$148 since August of the previous year. As tourism earnings increased, Sri Lanka’s imports and merchandise trade deficit began to improve, boosted by sector-related wages and other earnings.
(Colombo/January 10/2026)
