COLOMBO, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka have exceeded 1.5 million so far this year, a minister said on Monday.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath said in a post on social media that the figure passed the 1.5 million mark on Monday afternoon.

Data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority showed that 1,500,656 tourists visited Sri Lanka by that time.

The data showed that India, Britain, Russia, Germany and China were the top five source markets so far in 2025.

Tourism earnings are among the country's top sources of foreign exchange. Data from the country's central bank showed that Sri Lanka has earned more than 2 billion U.S. dollars from tourism in the first seven months of 2025. ■