Sri Lanka seeks Indian investment in hospitality says Minister
The Morning: Sri Lanka’s government seeks to facilitate more Indian investment in the private sector-driven hospitality segment, rather than restrict such opportunities, Trade Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe said, in an interview published by the New Indian Express.
“We have opened our hospitality sector to investors from around the world, including India. This sector is primarily private-driven. The government’s role is to facilitate, not control or restrict. We provide the regulatory framework and facilitation for anyone wishing to invest,” Samarasinghe said, referring to the large-scale hospitality projects inaugurated in Colombo in the last year.
Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings’ Cinnamon Life City of Dreams, officially opened in August of this year, was built with the strategic focus of catering to high-spending tourists and MICE (Meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) tourists visiting Sri Lanka from India.
Of the total number of tourists who visited Sri Lanka in 2024, 20.3% were Indian, according to data published by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA).
India, for social welfare, national security and economic concerns, heavily restricts gambling, under the Public Gambling Act of 1867.
Though physical gambling is banned for the most part in India, the legality of engaging in the activity varies across certain states.
The $ 1.2 billion Cinnamon Life City of Dreams property includes two hotels, apartments, adult gaming facilities, restaurants, a shopping mall and event spaces.
In August, Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd. (the joint investment partner to the Cinnamon Life City of Dreams project) Chairperson said that Sri Lanka can be to India what Macau is to China, referring to how it is illegal to gamble in mainland China.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka enjoys strong bilateral and trade ties with India, which are also on a growth path. India is also a key development partner of Sri Lanka with Indian tourists also dominating the list of tourists visiting the country. As Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is on a steady growth path with an increasing number of tourist arrivals to the country, there are emerging business/investment opportunities in the industry and related sectors. It is in such a backdrop that Sri Lanka is looking at attracting Indian businesses/investors to the country’s tourism industry and related sectors. Indian businesses/investors interested in entering Sri Lanka’s tourism industry could also look at the growth and profits recorded by Indian leisure and hospitality brands that are already operating in Sri Lanka as well as the overall performance indicators related to the country’s tourism industry. Given the increasing attraction of Sri Lanka as a must visit tourist destination and the expanding tourism concepts being presented by local tourism authorities in key foreign tourist markets, the increasing business potential in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry and related sectors present lucrative ventures to foreign businesses/investors, especially Indian businesses/investors. These Indian businesses could also look at expanding operations in Sri Lanka through partnerships or joint ventures with local businesses.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20251010/Z_3 |