Record October: Sri Lanka Tops 168,000 Tourist Arrivals in a Single Month for the First Time AI-generated editorial image. The Daily FT’s original photograph is available with its report linked at the end of this article. Sri Lanka recorded 168,625 tourist arrivals in October 2026, setting a new all-time monthly record and welcoming more than 168,000 visitors in a single month for the first time. The milestone, reported by the Daily FT on 3 November, offers an encouraging start to the island’s winter tourism season. For Sri Lankans living in the UK and elsewhere, the figures arrive as many families and friends begin planning December and January visits home. The record is a positive sign of visitor demand, but it needs to be read alongside an important qualification: the number of arrivals has risen, while tourism earnings for the first nine months of the year have fallen. At a glance ...