International tourism, number of arrivals in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: International tourism, number of arrivals was 540,000 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
International tourism, number of arrivals in Sri Lanka, 1995–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
Analysis
In 2020, international tourism, number of arrivals in Sri Lanka stood at 540,000.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 73.4% on the previous year and down 29.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, number of arrivals in Sri Lanka peaked at 2.52 million in 2018 and was at its lowest, 315,000, in 1996.
That places Sri Lanka 123rd out of 201 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
International tourism, number of arrivals in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 414,000 | — |
| 1996 | 315,000 | -23.9% |
| 1997 | 384,000 | +21.9% |
| 1998 | 409,000 | +6.5% |
| 1999 | 465,000 | +13.7% |
| 2000 | 445,000 | -4.3% |
| 2001 | 397,000 | -10.8% |
| 2002 | 457,000 | +15.1% |
| 2003 | 583,000 | +27.6% |
| 2004 | 681,000 | +16.8% |
| 2005 | 669,000 | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 689,000 | +3.0% |
| 2007 | 592,000 | -14.1% |
| 2008 | 526,000 | -11.1% |
| 2009 | 538,000 | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 766,000 | +42.4% |
| 2011 | 976,000 | +27.4% |
| 2012 | 1.13 million | +16.1% |
| 2013 | 1.42 million | +24.9% |
| 2014 | 1.67 million | +17.7% |
| 2015 | 1.99 million | +19.7% |
| 2016 | 2.17 million | +8.8% |
| 2017 | 2.25 million | +3.7% |
| 2018 | 2.52 million | +12.1% |
| 2019 | 2.03 million | -19.6% |
| 2020 | 540,000 | -73.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 397,400 | 315,000 | 465,000 | 5 |
| 2000s | 557,700 | 397,000 | 689,000 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.69 million | 766,000 | 2.52 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 540,000 | 540,000 | 540,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More private sector data for Sri Lanka
- Merchandise trade 32.2% (2025)
- Food imports 15.3% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 59.7% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 21.48 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 27.3% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 66.0% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 13.58 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 624.24 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1248 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 6.33 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, number of arrivals in Sri Lanka?
- International tourism, number of arrivals in Sri Lanka was 540,000 in 2020, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, number of arrivals recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 2.52 million in 2018.
- What is the lowest international tourism, number of arrivals recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 315,000 in 1996.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for international tourism, number of arrivals?
- Sri Lanka ranks 123rd out of 201 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, number of arrivals rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism, published as part of International tourism, number of arrivals. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
International inbound tourists (overnight visitors) are the number of tourists who travel to a country other than that in which they have their usual residence, but outside their usual environment, for a period not exceeding 12 months and whose main purpose in visiting is other than an activity remunerated from within the country visited. When data on number of tourists are not available, the number of visitors, which includes tourists, same-day visitors, cruise passengers, and crew members, is shown instead. Sources and collection methods for arrivals differ across countries. In some cases data are from border statistics (police, immigration, and the like) and supplemented by border surveys. In other cases data are from tourism accommodation establishments. For some countries number of arrivals is limited to arrivals by air and for others to arrivals staying in hotels. Some countries include arrivals of nationals residing abroad while others do not. Caution should thus be used in comparing arrivals across countries. The data on inbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips to a country during a given period is counted each time as a new arrival.