LNP – Sri Lanka’s tourism income hits US$768 mn in first two months of 2025

Earnings from Sri Lanka’s tourism trade has continued to remain robust during the height of the seasonal peak as arrivals have been stronger. This is while the country is being recognised and featured by global publications as one of the most preferred destinations for travel in 2025.

Sri Lanka earned US$ 367.6 million from the trade in February 2025, which is the third biggest foreign income generator for the country after remittances and garments, taking the total income for the first two months of the year to US$ 768.2 million.

While this marked a slight decline from the US$ 400.7 million earned in January 2025, it is an increase from US$ 345.7 million earned in the same month in 2024.

The cumulative earnings rose by 11.7 percent from the same period a year ago.

The stronger earnings are coming on the back of robust arrivals of 240,217 in February. This is an increase from 218,350 in the same month a year ago.

As March has also come to its mid-point, the data showed that for the first thirteen days, Sri Lanka has welcomed 97,322 visitors, taking the total so far this year to 590,300 arrivals.

Roughly a fortnight ago on March 01, Sri Lanka hit its half a million mark in the arrivals as it aims welcoming 3.0 million tourists in 2025 to generate US$ 5.0 billion in incomes from the trade.

If achieved, it is going to be the records in both arrivals and earnings surpassing Sri Lanka’s previous highest achieved in 2018.

At its peak in 2018, Sri Lanka hosted 2.5 million visitors who brought and spent US$ 4.4 billion in earnings.

However, as Sri Lanka is getting continuously noticed for its beaches and mostly exclusive diversity offered by its nature, the 2025 targets appear mostly within its reach.

For instance Conde Nast Travellers ranked Sri Lanka as the most family-friendly country to visit in 2025.

Meanwhile, TIME Magazine has featured, The Pekoe Trail in Sri Lanka’s Central Highlands among the world’s 100 greatest places to visit in 2025.

This is even before the Tourism Ministry unveils its destination marketing campaign later this month.

As the world has come out of the pandemic and the economic imbalances brought in its aftermath, Sri Lanka is seeing its tourism industry getting back on track, enabling it to surpass its previous records set for both earnings and visitors. Â

Completed in March 2024, the 186-mile Pekoe Trail, named after the high-grade black tea, is Sri Lanka’s first long-distance walking route. It weaves through colonial-era roads and railway tracks, starting in the Hanthana mountains near Kandy and passing through tea plantations, eucalyptus forests, and villages before reaching Nuwara Eliya. The trail also offers breathtaking views of Sri Pada (Adam’s Peak), a sacred pilgrimage site.