Sri Lanka recorded a decline in average tourist spending in 2025, even as visitor arrivals rose sharply, according to official data released by the Central Bank.
Tourist arrivals increased to 2,362,521 in 2025 from 2,053,465 in 2024, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 15.1 percent. However, total tourism earnings rose only marginally to USD 3,219.2 million in 2025, compared to USD 3,168.6 million the previous year—an increase of just 1.6 percent.
Based on these figures, the average spending per tourist declined to approximately USD 1,363 in 2025, down from about USD 1,544 in 2024. This represents a reduction of nearly USD 181 per visitor, or a year-on-year decline of around 11.7 percent.
The data indicate that while Sri Lanka successfully attracted a larger number of tourists in 2025, visitor spending did not grow in proportion to arrivals.
Tourism analysts suggest the decline in per-capita spending may be attributed to shorter average stays, shifts in the composition of source markets, or an increase in arrivals from more price-sensitive segments. They note that the trend highlights the need for Sri Lanka to focus not only on increasing tourist numbers, but also on promoting higher-value tourism to strengthen foreign exchange earnings.
