India Leads as Sri Lanka Welcomes Over 1.6 Million Visitors Year-to-Date

Sri Lanka’s tourism sector has officially surpassed the 1.6 million arrivals threshold for 2026, registering a total of 1,609,759 visitors between January 1 and September 14, 2026.

The milestone was achieved during the first fortnight of September, which saw 74,637 tourist arrivals enter the country from September 1 to September 14. Visitor flow remained consistent across the 14-day period, recording 37,130 arrivals in the first week (September 1–7) and 37,507 arrivals in the second week (September 8–14).

India continues to hold its position as Sri Lanka’s largest source market by a significant margin, generating 408,024 tourists from January 1 to September 14, 2026. The United Kingdom ranks second with 155,798 tourists, while China holds third place with 105,294 visitors.

The remainder of the top ten source markets year-to-date includes:

During the first 14 days of September, India led all markets by delivering 22,541 arrivals, representing a 30% share of total tourist entries. The United Kingdom contributed 5,809 visitors (8%), followed by Australia with 4,783 (6%), China with 4,466 (6%), and Germany with 4,006 (5%). France (2,647), Maldives (2,646), Japan (2,053), Bangladesh (1,983), and Spain (1,892) rounded out the top ten origin markets for the period.