Sri Lanka welcomed 173,878 tourists during the first 27 days of August 2026, according to the latest statistics released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA).

With these latest figures, the total number of tourist arrivals to the country so far this year has successfully surpassed the 1.5 million mark, rising to 1,517,296.

However, the data shows that the momentum of arrivals slowed down in the latter part of the month. Although there was a visible increase in tourist arrivals during the first 14 days of August, a slowdown in this trend was observed over the subsequent 13 days.

According to the official statistics, Sri Lanka recorded 100,321 tourist arrivals from August 1 to 14, 2026. This figure declined to 73,557 arrivals during the 13-day period spanning from August 15 to 27.