Sri Lanka is targeting 3 million tourist arrivals in 2026, ‍a top ‍official said on Monday, after a record 2.36 million ​last year, as the country seeks to boost revenue and support recovery ⁠from Cyclone Ditwah.

Famous for its pristine beaches, ancient temples and Ceylon Tea, ⁠tourism is ‌Sri Lanka's second-largest foreign exchange earner with $3.2 billion in revenues in 2025.

The tourist arrival target, which is an ⁠ambitious 27% increase over the previous year, will help Sri Lankans recover from Cyclone Ditwah, which hit the island nation at the end of November killing 645 people, said Vijitha ⁠Herath, Minister of Foreign Affairs ​and Tourism. Torrential rains and hundreds of landslides damaged over 110,000 houses as well as ‍key roads, railroads, and bridges causing $4.1 billion in damage according to World Bank ​estimates. Growth, which was projected at 3.1% for 2026, was reduced to 2.9% by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in December. An IMF delegation is expected in Colombo this month to conduct the fifth review of a $2.9 billion program with Sri Lanka.

"We are proud that Sri Lanka still managed to record the highest-ever tourism numbers. We are hopeful that tourism revenue will also continue to grow and ⁠this will help our economy at a crucial ‌time," Herath told reporters. Sri Lanka is also eyeing about $500 million in investment in the tourism sector in 2026 after attracting $329 ‌million from ⁠126 projects last year, said Buddhika Hewawasam, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Development ⁠Authority.

(Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe, Editing by Louise Heavens)