Sri Lanka’s tourism earnings declined by 8.1 percent year-on-year in November, with revenue falling to USD 251.6 million, according to the External Sector Performance report for November 2025 released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).
The country earned USD 272.9 million in November 2024, marking a decrease of USD 21.3 million this year. The downturn came amid severe weather disruptions caused by Cyclone Ditwah, which brought heavy rainfall, flooding, and landslides across several parts of the island during the month.
Despite the decline in earnings, tourist arrivals showed a month-on-month improvement. Data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) indicated a 15 percent increase in arrivals compared to October. However, the overall impact of adverse weather conditions was evident, particularly in early December. SLTDA weekly data showed arrivals falling from 56,267 during the final week of November (23–30) to 43,976 between December 1 and 7, coinciding with the cyclone period.
Sri Lanka also fell short of its ambitious tourism earnings target of USD 5 billion for 2025, missing the goal by approximately USD 2.5 billion. In addition, CBSL data revealed that earnings from Sea and Air Transport Services declined by 20.8 percent year-on-year in November 2025, a reduction of around USD 29.3 million compared to the same period in 2024.
Tourism-related foreign exchange earnings had already shown signs of weakening earlier, with a declining trend recorded during July and August of the previous year.
Commenting on the outlook, Sri Lanka Tourism Chairperson Buddhika Hewawasam stated on January 1 that momentum is expected to continue into 2026, with the target of three million tourist arrivals remaining in place, though revenue expectations are set to be revised. He noted that Sri Lanka is expected to end 2025 with approximately 2.35 million tourist arrivals and tourism revenue in the range of USD 3 to 4 billion.
Sri Lanka did not achieve its target of three million tourist arrivals in 2025, recording around 2.3 million visitors. The country also missed its arrivals target in 2024 by about 250,000, reaching below the projected 2.6 million. Nevertheless, tourism revenue in 2024 rose to USD 3.17 billion, a significant increase from USD 2.07 billion in 2023, highlighting the sector’s gradual recovery despite ongoing challenges.
