COLOMBO -- Sri Lankan tourism authorities are expecting 3 million foreign tourists in 2025, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Managing Director Nalin Perera has said.

From the second week of September, Sri Lankan tourism authorities will launch a promotional campaign covering key source markets, Perera said on Friday.

Perera said the first phase of the campaign will target China, Britain, France, Germany, and India, while the second phase of the campaign will target Russia, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Poland, Italy, as well as Scandinavia, the Middle East and the Benelux countries. These campaigns are expected to increase tourist arrivals by 700,000 next year.

Perera said over 1.2 million tourists have arrived in Sri Lanka by Aug 12 and another 1.1 million are expected to arrive during the coming months, particularly from October to December. Sri Lanka expects to attract 2.3 million tourists in 2024.

Tourism is one of Sri Lanka's top foreign revenue generators. Sri Lanka's earnings from tourism rose to over $1.88 billion in the first seven months of 2024, a 73.3-percent increase year on year, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said in its latest weekly report.