Sri Lanka tourist arrivals reach 436,000 by February 15, says Deputy Minister

Deputy Minister of Tourism Professor Ruwan Ranasinghe says about 436,000 tourists have arrived in Sri Lanka this year as of February 15, 2026.

Speaking at a press conference held in Colombo today (February 19), he said a global tourism promotion programme targeting 15 countries will be implemented this year.

“We have succeeded in bringing Sri Lanka’s image to a very good position at the global level. Accordingly, tourist arrivals are at a high level. By February 15, 2026, around 436,000 tourists had arrived. Compared with the previous year, this is a very large figure.”

“About Rs. 2 billion has been allocated for our global promotional programme targeting 15 countries.”

“The T20 cricket tournament should be specially mentioned. Through that as well, we were able to attract significant interest in the tourism sector. One challenge we had in Colombo was the occupancy rate. At present it is around 100 percent. There is good demand for rooms in Colombo.”