Sri Lanka recorded 858,527 tourist arrivals in the first four months of 2026, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) said, with the cumulative total crossing the 800,000 mark for the year.
April was the weakest month in the period, drawing only 117,893 visitors, according to the authority. The figure represents a sharp drop from the strong opening quarter, when arrivals stood at 277,327 in January, 279,328 in February and 183,979 in March.
Officials said the four-month total marked an increase compared with the equivalent periods in 2025 and 2018. India, the United Kingdom, Russia, China and Germany were the top source markets.
The April result lands well below the SLTDA’s earlier monthly scenarios, which had projected anywhere from 195,084 to 236,597 arrivals for the month. The shortfall reflects the impact of the regional travel disruption caused by the US-Israel war on Iran, which has cut connectivity through Gulf hubs and pushed up airfares globally. By mid-April, daily arrivals had already fallen 27% year-on-year, and the second half of the month brought no clear recovery.
March arrivals had previously fallen 19.7% year-on-year, and tourism revenue for that month plunged 37% on lower per-visitor spending.
Despite April’s slump, the cumulative four-month total still keeps Sri Lanka within reach of the government’s three-million-visitor annual target, provided arrivals stabilise through the May-September shoulder season. Industry groups have repeatedly called for renewed market diversification campaigns to offset the Middle East-driven dip.
Source: NewsFirst.
