Sri Lanka, Sept. 15 -- Sri Lanka's tourism earnings fell to US$ 258.9 million this August, an 8.2 percent decrease compared to the same month last year. This decline occurred despite a significant 20.4 percent year-on-year increase in tourist arrivals.

The island nation welcomed 198,235 visitors in August, up from 164,609 in August 2024, with India remaining the largest source market. August's earnings were also down sharply by 18.7 percent from July's US$ 318.5 million, indicating a drop in per-tourist spending.

For the first eight months of the year, Sri Lanka has welcomed a total of 1,566,523 tourists, a 15 percent increase over the same period in 2024. Cumulative earnings have also risen to US$ 2.29 billion, but by a much smaller ma...