Sri Lanka welcomes over 800,000 tourists in four months of 2025
According to the latest data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), the island nation witnessed over 800,000 tourists’ arrival by mid-April, an increase of 16 percent from a year ago. This new wave of visitors marks a strong comeback for the tourism industry post-COVID and economic challenges of the past.
In the first 15 days of April, Sri Lanka saw 93,915 tourists visiting, representing an increase of 38 percent from a year ago. This marks an average of 6,200 tourists arriving per day. Of the 15 days, April 12 saw the highest single-day arrivals so far this year, with 7,585 visitors entering the country. The Tourism Development Authority said the highest number of tourists during this period came from India.
India leads, UK overtakes Russia in tourist arrivals
India led with 18,220 visitors during the first 15 days of April, representing 19.4 percent of the total arrivals. United Kingdom comes second in the list with 11,425 tourists from the European nation visiting Sri Lanka in April. In addition, arrivals from Russia slipped to third place with 8,705 visitors while 7,746 came from Germany, and 6,604 from Australia have visited the country.
Last year, arrivals from April were affected significantly due to an easy-to-use electronic visa authorisation scheme being scrapped. This led to an increase in fees, and the process was replaced by an online portal which was operated by a private consortium.
For the four months in 2025, Sri Lanka welcomed a total of 816,191 tourists, with India leading the number of visitors at 136,535. Additionally, the island nation registered 102,273 visitors from Russia, 81,130 from the UK, according to the latest data from the SLTDA.
Sri Lanka urged to regulate online gambling
Last month, speaking at an iGaming event in Sri Lanka, experts warned that failure to regulate online gambling could lead to lost revenue and unintended restrictions on other digital platforms. This came despite a recent development in which the country’s Cabinet of Ministers approved the continuation of drafting a bill to establish the Gambling Regulatory Authority. The decision follows a request from the Legal Draftsman, seeking concurrence from the current Cabinet to proceed with the legislative process.
Sri Lanka’s gaming landscape is evolving rapidly, with online gambling gaining traction despite the absence of formal regulations. The country currently permits state-run lotteries and land-based casinos, but online gaming remains in a legal grey area.
