A number of articles have appeared in the literature analysing the factors that influence international tourism. This paper identifies the factors that affect tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka and the impact of the various disturbances due to the Tamils independence war (which commenced in 1983) and the introduction of the free-trade policy (in 1977) in Sri Lanka. It is found that the disturbances related to the war have led to a significant (about 21%) decline in international tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka. It was also found that the free-trade policy introduced in 1977 by the Sri Lankan government has had a significantly positive impact on increasing its international tourist arrivals. The results also show that the weaker the value of the Sri Lankan local currency with respect to the US dollar, the more attractive it is for international tourists. Furthermore, it was also found that the Sri Lankan consumer prices and world consumer income level have no significant impact on the number of international tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka.