Wednesday, July 22 2026
Wednesday, July 22 2026
MONETABRIEF – Sri Lanka has downgraded its tourism arrival target to the worst-case scenario of 2.5 million for 2026 after the US, Israel war on Iran led to widespread flight cancellations, Deputy Minister Ruwan Ranasinghe said.
Sri Lanka was expecting 3.0 million tourists in 2026, an ambitious 26.8 percent rise from the 2.3 million in 2025 in a best-case scenario. The base case was 2.7 million and the worst case was 2.5 million.
"We are hopeful that we can reach up to 2.5 million arrivals by the end of the year," Minister Ranasinghe told reporters on July 09.
Airlines cancelled around 1,000 incoming flights after the US-Iran war started but they are now going back to pre-war schedules.
Qatar Airways had increased frequencies to 5 a day and were now operating 35 flights a week to Colombo. Emirates and British Airways were also increasing flights.
New airlines, Australia-based Jetstar, Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air will start operations to Sri Lanka for the first time in 2026.
Sri Lanka is also kicking off an interim promotional campaign in several markets pending the rollout of a global marketing campaign early next year, Minister Ranasinghe said.
The global campaign with run for 4-5 years at a cost of 4 to 5 billion rupees.
Procurement for New Zealand and Australia for the interim campaign has been completed, he said.
Sri Lanka has been recognized as a top emerging destination for wellness tourism. (Colombo/July10/2026)
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