Tourism earnings fell by 10% year-on-year to USD 2.06 billion during the first eight months of 2026, according to Central Bank of Sri Lanka data.
Tourism earnings stood at USD 2.29 billion during the same period in 2025. This means the country earned about USD 228.9 million less from tourism during the first eight months of this year.
The decline in earnings was much sharper than the fall in tourist arrivals.
Tourist Arrivals Fall by Only 2%
Sri Lanka welcomed 1,535,122 tourists between January and August 2026.
That compares with 1,566,523 arrivals during the same period last year.
The difference is 31,401 tourists, or about 2% year-on-year.
The latest figures therefore show a clear gap between visitor numbers and tourism earnings. Arrivals fell only slightly, while the money earned from tourism fell at a much faster rate.
Based on the reported figures, tourism earnings per arrival also fell during the period.
Tourism generated about USD 1,493 per arrival during the first eight months of 2025. The figure fell to about USD 1,342 in the same period of 2026.
That represents a difference of about USD 151 per tourist.
September Adds More Than 74,000 Arrivals
Tourist arrivals continued during the first half of September.
A total of 74,637 tourists arrived between September 1 and September 14.
According to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, total tourist arrivals reached 1,609,759 between January 1 and September 14.
The latest arrival figure shows that more than 1.6 million tourists had already entered the country by mid-September.
However, the earnings figures point to a different trend.
The number of visitors has remained relatively close to last year’s level, while tourism earnings have recorded a much larger decline.
For tourism businesses, the key issue is therefore not only how many tourists arrive, but also how much they spend during their stay.
The coming months will show whether tourism earnings recover as arrivals continue to build.
Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Numbers & Indexes Tourism
Last modified: September 19, 2026
