Sri Lanka recorded more than 1.9 million tourist arrivals between 1 January and 8 November 2026, according to the latest figures from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.
The authority’s weekly report records 1,912,233 arrivals for the year to date. Visitors arriving during the first eight days of November accounted for 49,929 of that total.
October was the strongest month in the latest report, with 168,625 arrivals. That represented a 2.1% increase on October 2025, when Sri Lanka welcomed 165,193 visitors, and was 10.1% above the October 2018 figure of 153,123.
India remained Sri Lanka’s largest source market, accounting for 512,026 arrivals between January and 8 November. The United Kingdom followed with 176,670 visitors, ahead of China with 126,326 and Germany with 108,754.
The figures indicate continued demand for Sri Lanka despite a difficult year that included weather disruption and wider regional travel uncertainty. European markets remain important to the destination, with the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and Switzerland all appearing among its leading source markets.
The latest total is a year-to-date figure rather than a full-year result or forecast. Sri Lanka recorded 2.36 million arrivals during 2025, meaning the final performance for 2026 will depend heavily on the traditionally important December season.
The results may support the country’s efforts to attract additional air capacity, strengthen hotel investment and promote experiences beyond Colombo, including cultural sites, tea-country travel, wildlife and coastal tourism.
