August tourist arrivals fall short of monthly target, despite YoY growth

• Sri Lanka welcomes 164,609 tourists in August, fails to achieve 202,907 monthly target 
• YTD arrivals reach over 1.36 m
• India, UK and China emerge as top markets in August

Sri Lanka’s tourists arrivals in August fell significantly short of the monthly target, marking the largest gap seen so far this year.

As per the provisional data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) August saw a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 20.7%, with 164,609 arrivals compared to last year, however it still fell short by 38,298 visitors from the projected target of 202,907 for the month. 

The year-to-day (YTD) tourist arrivals reached 1.36 million 

This shortfall exceeded the previous largest gap of 35,225 visitors recorded in June, which was impacted by the ongoing visa-related issues.

Although the first two weeks of August displayed a promising start, with an average of 6,545 daily arrivals, this momentum dropped sharply in the second half of the month, culminating in a low of 2,804 arrivals on 28 August. 

As a result, the daily arrival average for August stood at 5,310, a decline from July’s average of 6,058.

India continued to be the largest source of tourists, with 33,031 arrivals in August, followed by the UK with 17,587 and China with 11,333. Germany and Italy ranked fourth and fifth respectively. Notably, Russia returned to the top 10 markets, contributing 4,351 visitors.

In August, India topped the arrivals with 33,031 visitors, followed by the UK with 17,587 and China with 11,333 travellers.

India also remains the top source market YTD with 258,672 arrivals, while the UK surpassed Russia to claim second place with 127,776 visitors. Russia now ranks third with 123,033 arrivals.

For 2024, Sri Lanka aims to draw 2.3 million tourists and generate over $ 4 billion in revenue.