By: Staff Writer
July 08, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s Tourism Recovery Slows Amidst Ambitious Targets and Limited Promotion.
Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, once a key pillar of the economy, is showing signs of recovery in 2025 under the current administration. However, the pace remains insufficient to meet ambitious targets set for the year.
Despite a relative improvement compared to the crisis-hit years of the past, the industry still struggles to regain pre-pandemic momentum.
Key challenges remain unaddressed—chief among them being weak global promotion, an over-reliance on a few source markets, and geopolitical uncertainties dampening long-haul travel.
While the government touts progress, tourism industry stakeholders warn that current strategies fall short of producing sustained growth.
According to the latest data from the Central Bank, Sri Lanka’s tourism earnings in the first half of 2025 rose by 10% year-on-year (YoY) to $1.71 billion. However, this moderate rebound still lags significantly behind the country’s peak years.
Earnings for January to June 2025 are down 22% compared to the same period in 2018 ($2.18 billion) and nearly 10% lower than 2019 ($1.9 billion), raising serious questions about the feasibility of reaching the government’s $5 billion year-end target.
Tourism revenue for June stood at $169.5 million, a 12% YoY increase, yet it marked the second-lowest monthly earnings for the year—outpacing only May’s $164.13 million. January 2025’s earnings of $400.66 million remain the highest so far this year, but still fall short of June 2018’s peak monthly revenue of $275.6 million.
The government aims to attract 3 million tourists by the end of 2025. However, as of June, only 1.16 million arrivals have been recorded.
This means the country must draw in over 1.83 million tourists in the next six months—averaging around 305,000 arrivals per month, compared to the current average of 195,000.
In June alone, 138,241 tourists visited Sri Lanka, an increase of 22% YoY, yet falling short of the 177,257 target.
To meet the $5 billion revenue goal, Sri Lanka would need to earn more than $3.28 billion in the second half of the year—requiring a monthly average of approximately $547.9 million. This is nearly double the current monthly average of $285.4 million.
Based on the average tourist stay of nine nights and daily spending of $163, such a leap appears highly optimistic without a dramatic surge in arrivals or spending.
Tourism analysts warn that the mismatch between targets and actual performance is widening. They point to the lack of a comprehensive international marketing campaign, ongoing global travel uncertainty, and insufficient airline connectivity as critical barriers to growth.
Industry insiders stress that without a strategic reset—focusing on sustainable promotion, diversified markets, and policy support—the sector may not only miss its 2025 goals but also risk stalling its fragile recovery.
