October 2025 tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka pushes year-to-date total to near 1.9 million
The total 165,193 tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka in October 2025 were a 21.5% rise compared to 135,907 in the same month last year and is a significant 7.8% rise over the pre-pandemic 153,123 arrivals of October 2018.
October’s arrivals fell short of the monthly target of the ambitious ‘Conservative scenario’ target set at 176,381 arrivals, although it surpassed the “Lower scenario” target of 162,562 by 2,631 visitors.
India continues to lead the influx, accounting for 48,113 tourists, (29.1%) arrivals during October 2025. The subsequent top markets were the United Kingdom with 12,934, (7.8%), the Russian Federation with 11,496, (6.9%) and China sending 10,864 (6.6%), A strong growth also came from emerging markets, with Bangladesh showing a 47.9 percent year-on-year increase to 5,521 visitors.
Last month’s performance has pushed the cumulative year-to-date (January to October 2025) arrivals to 1,890,687. This total reflects a 16.6% growth compared to the 1,620,715 arrivals recorded during the same period last year.
On a year-to-date basis, from January to October 2025, India remains the dominant source market, with YTD figures of 423,405 arrivals, a 31.1% increase over 322,973 arrivals during the same period in 2024. The UK holds the second spot, with 174,827 arrivals, up 19.2%. In contrast the Russian Federation is showing a 2.9% decline, year-to- date, with 133,640 arrivals, compared to 137,599 during the first 10 months of 2024. Germany, with 116,741 visitors and China, with 112,454 visitors, round out the top five for the year so far, showing a modest growth of 7.3% and 6.5%, respectively.
Despite the positive growth, Sri Lanka is likely to face a huge challenge in achieving its revised annual ‘Conservative Scenario’ target of 2.67 million arrivals. To meet this goal, the country must attract an additional 785,909 tourists in the remaining 61 days of the year. This requires a demanding daily average of 12,884 arrivals. This required rate is more than double the daily average of 5,329 seen in October 2025, and substantially higher than the daily averages observed during the peak season months of November and December 2024.
The local aviation industry recorded steady growth between January and September 2025, reflecting rebound in travel connectivity and tourism demand. Data released by Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Private) Limited (AASL) showed a 14% increase in international passenger movements and a 15% rise in aircraft movements compared with the same period in 2024.
The sector’s year-end outlook remains positive, supported by new routes and expanded schedules. Kuwait Airways resumed flights to Colombo on October 27, followed by Belavia Airlines (Belarus) and Red Wings Airlines launching new charter and scheduled services to Mattala on October 28. Edelweiss/SWISS International Air Lines commenced winter operations to BIA on the same date, while Enter Air will commence regular flights from Warsaw to Colombo on October 30, operating through April 2026.
To manage increasing passenger volumes, AASL is to introduce 12 new check-in counters at Bandaranaike International Airport from 1 November 2025. The initiative, launched in collaboration with Sri Lanka Tourism, includes the construction of a temporary marquee to ease capacity constraints until Terminal 2 opens in 2026.
Hospitality Sri Lanka
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