Sri Lanka becomes fastest-growing overseas wedding destination for Indians

Sri Lanka became the fastest-growing overseas wedding destination for Indian couples in 2025, recording a 25% rise in popularity, according to the Destination Wedding Report 2026 by wedding planning platform WedMeGood.

The report said Sri Lanka’s easy accessibility, close distance to India, luxury hotels and experience-based celebrations have helped the country emerge as a major destination wedding hub.

Indian wedding bookings in Sri Lanka are expected to grow by 20% to 25% annually over the next few years.

The most-booked wedding properties in Sri Lanka during 2025 were Shangri-La Hambantota, Shangri-La Colombo, Amaya Hills in Kandy, The Grand Hotel in Nuwara Eliya and Jetwing Lagoon in Negombo.

Thailand remained the most popular international wedding destination for Indians, receiving nearly 25 lakh Indian visitors in 2025. This was a 16% increase compared with the previous year.

WedMeGood found that one in every four weddings held in 2025 was a destination wedding. The share is expected to increase to between 30% and 32% by 2028.

The findings were based on a survey conducted through WedMeGood’s consumer and industry networks. It covered around 2.5 lakh consumers and nearly 24,000 wedding industry professionals and vendors.

Wedding spending also increased in 2025. The average budget for a domestic destination wedding rose to Rs. 58 lakh, while an international destination wedding cost an average of around Rs. 1.5 crore.

Destination weddings now last an average of 3.2 days, compared with 1.8 days before 2020. The report also found that Indian families increasingly prefer Indian food to be served even when weddings are held overseas.

Cheranka Mendis, Area Director of Communications for Shangri-La Colombo and Shangri-La Hambantota, told PTI that Sri Lanka was moving from an emerging alternative to a serious short-haul luxury wedding destination for Indian couples.

Citing figures from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Mendis said India remained Sri Lanka’s largest tourism source market. Indian arrivals increased from 302,844 in 2023 to 416,974 in 2024 and more than 530,000 in 2025.

Apart from Sri Lanka and Thailand, Bali in Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia were among the most popular overseas wedding destinations for Indian couples.

In Europe, Italy, France, Greece, Spain and Portugal emerged as the preferred destinations for Indian weddings.

Within India, Dehradun, Mussoorie, Rishikesh, Shimla and Jim Corbett were ranked as the five leading destination wedding locations. They were followed by Udaipur, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Goa.

International travel has faced difficulties following the attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran on February 28 and the retaliatory strikes that followed. Longer flight routes and higher aviation turbine fuel prices have increased airfares and affected travel demand.

However, experts said Indian couples were unlikely to abandon their overseas wedding plans in 2026, although some families may change their preferred destinations.

Shashank Gupta, Chief Dreamer and Nurturer at luxury wedding consulting and experience design company TailorMade Experiences, told PTI that uncertainty in West Asia had prompted Indian families and wedding planners to reconsider their choices.

He said concerns over regional stability had shifted attention towards destinations offering greater certainty, easier travel arrangements and a smooth experience for wedding guests.

Gupta said consolidated industry data on weddings moving away from the Middle East was not yet available. However, his company had recorded a clear increase in enquiries and site visits from Indian families considering Sri Lanka as an alternative wedding destination.