Tourism and Hospitality Economy & Growth

External sector: Tourism earnings drop by 19%

Shalini
May 19 2026
31

Sri Lanka’s total tourism earnings declined by 19.4% in year-on-year terms, in the first four months of the year, posting only $ 1.11 billion between January and April, data from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka shows. Within the same time period in 2025, Sri Lanka earned $ 1.37 billion in tourism earnings.

Monthly year-on-year tourism earnings also declined from $ 256.7 million recorded in April 2025, to $ 157.1 million recorded in April this year.

Source: The morning