Sri Lanka: Tourist arrivals

* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
 Sri Lanka

Tourist arrivals

 Latest value 540
 Year 2020
 Measure thousand tourists
 Data availability 1995 - 2020
 Average 962
 Min - Max 315 - 2,521
 Source World Tourism Organization
The latest value from 2020 is 540 thousand tourists, a decline from 2027 thousand tourists in 2019. In comparison, the world average is 4935 thousand tourists, based on data from 123 countries. Historically, the average for Sri Lanka from 1995 to 2020 is 962 thousand tourists. The minimum value, 315 thousand tourists, was reached in 1996 while the maximum of 2521 thousand tourists was recorded in 2018. See the global rankings for that indicator or use the country comparator to compare trends over time.
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* indicates monthly or quarterly data series


Recent data
Sri Lanka - Tourist arrivals - Recent values chart

Historical series
Sri Lanka - Tourist arrivals - historical chart - 1995-2020




Definition: 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.

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 Related indicators Latest Reference Measure
 Tourist arrivals 540 2020 thousand tourists
 International tourism revenue 1,076 2020 million USD
 International tourism revenue, percent of GDP 1.28 2020 percent
 Percent of world tourist arrivals 0.09 2020 percent
 Tourist departures 305 2020 thousand tourists
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