Sri Lanka races towards record arrivals in April

Records 896,884 arrivals with 14.3% YoY increase in first four months, surpassing previous high in 2018, but falls short of highest 907,575 in 2019

- CHARUMINI DE SILVA

■ April arrivals up 17.3% YoY to 174,698

■ Daily arrivals pick up YoY in April, but decline on a month-on-month basis

■ Misses the ambitious forecast of 224,710 monthly target by 50,102 while trailing 2018's by mere 5,821 tourists

■ India, Russia and UK emerge top source markets during January-April

■ Analysts opine despite strong recovery in numbers and renewed global interest, Sri Lanka still faces uphill climb to achieve 3 m arrivals and $ 5 b revenue target

SRI Lanka’s tourism industry is maintaining its roaring growth momentum in 2025, attracting nearly 900,000 visitors at the end of its first four months, outpacing the performance for the same period in the industry’s best year of 2018— but lagging behind record haul of 907,575 in 2019.

The country welcomed over 174,608 tourists in April, marking a 17.3% year-on-year (YoY) growth, pushing the cumulative arrivals to 896,884, which registered a 14.3% YoY increase— reinforcing the industry’s steady upward trajectory in 2025.