A market brief each morning, plus company filings and news from across Sri Lanka's stock market. Filter by company, sector and theme, and use sentiment badges to quickly identify Positive or Negative news.
The Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Dubai staged the second 'Sri Lanka Beyond Your Dreams' event to showcase tourism, trade and strategic investment and to push a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE. Ministers and UAE trade officials highlighted logistics, free zones, technology and Port City Colombo as key avenues to attract GCC investment and strengthen bilateral economic ties.
Vietjet is running a three-day 9.9 sale (7-10 Sep 2026) offering Eco fares from USD90 one-way and 22% off Deluxe base fares on its Colombo-Ho Chi Minh City route; travel is valid from 10 Sep 2026 to 31 Mar 2027 (blackout dates apply).
Thailand will remove Sri Lanka from its visa‑exemption list, requiring Sri Lankan ordinary passport holders to obtain a visa for tourist entry from September 15, 2026. Travelers arriving on or before September 14, 2026, can still enter visa‑free for up to 60 days under current rules.
The Sri Lanka-Benelux Business Council held its 31st AGM where Dutch Ambassador Wiebe de Boer confirmed Sri Lanka's GSP+ access remains until 2029 and urged deeper EU ties including a potential FTA. Council president Farhath Amith (re-elected) urged Benelux support and highlighted renewable energy, floriculture, agro-processing, eco-tourism and healthcare as priority sectors.
An IMF team will visit Sri Lanka from 10-23 Sept to conduct the combined Seventh review of the Extended Fund Facility programme and the 2026 Article IV Consultation. The IMF said it revised 2026 growth to about 3% and flagged a worsened external outlook from higher fuel import costs and weaker tourism.
Minister Vijitha Herath visited the UAE on 2-3 September 2026 to promote tourism, trade and investment and urged expediting a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). He held bilateral talks with UAE ministers and met EMAAR executives to discuss investment opportunities in Port City Colombo.
Minister Vijitha Herath inaugurated Gem City Ratnapura 2026 and urged greater value addition in the gem and jewellery industry, calling the NGJA target to raise exports to $3 billion by 2030 a national economic objective. Ministers also highlighted gem tourism, traceability, certification and simpler import-export procedures to boost value-added manufacturing and market access.
Sri Lanka Convention Bureau ran a MICE training programme at Sabaragamuwa University on 11 Aug 2026 to build MICE tourism awareness and develop skilled undergraduates aligned with the national MICE Tourism Road Map. The full-day workshop covered industry trends, event planning, event tech and sustainable risk management and included panel discussions and student presentations.
The High Commission of Sri Lanka in Pretoria held a tourism promotion event at Rosebank Sunday Market, Johannesburg on 30 August 2026 to showcase Sri Lanka's attractions; promotional materials were distributed and many visitors expressed interest in visiting.
The World Bank is backing a proposed Tourism Entrepreneurship Fund, to be managed by a private fund manager under the Tourism Ministry, to channel investment into MSMEs, events and visitor experiences in Colombo to attract higher-value tourists and crowd in private capital.
Indian couples are shifting to experience-led destination weddings, raising average destination-wedding budgets to INR 58 lakh while guest lists fall to 280; this trend boosted Sri Lanka-which recorded over 530,000 Indian arrivals in 2025 (27% YoY)-and positions the island as a fast-growing premium wedding market.
Sri Lanka received 191,704 international visitors in August, a 3.29% YoY decline, leaving Jan-Aug arrivals at about 1.53m (down 2% YoY). India was the largest source market; meeting the 2026 2.7m target now needs roughly 1.17m more visitors in the final four months.
Tourism
Ada Derana·Sep 2, 2026·Promotional / marketing·NTBPositive
Colombo Fashion Week's CFW Couture + Trousseau, presented by Nations Trust Bank, runs 17-19 Sept as a South Asian couture showcase anchored by a Wedding Tourism Summit to promote Sri Lanka as a destination wedding market; Cinnamon Life (venue partner) hosts the event.
The Cove Hiriketiya has launched a nine-room boutique beachfront property on Hiriketiya Bay, Dikwella, with reservations open and launch festivities starting 3 October 2026. Rates start from USD 250 and a wellness space (sauna, ice bath, treatment rooms) is expected to open in November 2026.
Touli, a civic-impact platform by DWorld developed with Sri Lankan partner SoftSora, launched its first international chapter in Colombo partnering with AIESEC Sri Lanka and Women in Tech Sri Lanka. The AI-verified app rewards civic actions with points redeemable only for local experiences such as meals, guesthouse stays and artisan goods.
Sri Lanka's cumulative trade deficit widened to US$6.5 billion in Jan-July 2026 (from US$3.9bn), driven mainly by soaring fuel import costs and weaker export performance. Services and tourism softened, while workers' remittances and official reserves provided some support.
Sri Lanka's current account posted a $142m deficit in July, the fourth consecutive monthly deficit, leaving a January-July cumulative deficit of $387m, the central bank said. The trade deficit widened to $6.5bn Jan-Jul, fuel import costs rose 68% YoY in July, tourism earnings fell while remittances and some foreign inflows rose.
Sri Lanka has delayed the planned March 2027 launch of a Rs.5 billion global tourism branding campaign, saying it will first appoint a consultancy to develop a Global Destination Communication Roadmap and effectively pushing the start back by nearly a year.
A delegation of more than 250 Japanese, organized by Dr. Ruwan Perera and Little Japan, began its Sri Lanka tour with visits to Mihintale and Anuradhapura including the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhiya, then travelled to Habarana to start a cultural exploration aimed at strengthening Japan-Sri Lanka ties.
Over 250 Japanese travellers arrived in Colombo under the 'Little Japan' initiative, the largest privately organised Japanese delegation to Sri Lanka and a push to renew tourism and commercial ties. Colombo International Airport Hotel hosted the group and organisers say the visit could spur further tourism, trade and investment.
Tourism
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