A view of the city of Colombo from Port City
Image Credit: Supplied
Sri Lanka has long been a sought-after travel destination, known across the world for its diversity of natural landscapes, culture, and wildlife. The sheer number of tourists reflects the popularity of Sri Lanka as a tourism destination, further boosted by the country’s resilient tourism and hospitality industry. After experiencing a record 1.48 million tourist arrivals in 2023, Sri Lanka has reached a five-year high of welcoming approximately 200,000 tourists during the month of January. There is a growing confidence that Sri Lanka will achieve the 2.3 million tourist target in 2024.
Sri Lanka, however, illustrates significant potential as a destination that goes beyond just traditional tourism, especially through its commercial capital — the vibrant city of Colombo.
Colombo’s strategic position as a key regional logistics and shipping point at the very heart of the South Asian region, with its direct access to markets including India, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region, provides immense opportunities for Sri Lanka to reinvent itself as a global destination for not only tourism, but also foreign direct investment (FDIs) and business relations.
The MICE industry in Colombo is a key facet through which Sri Lanka could achieve the twin objectives of boosting tourism earnings, and attracting prospective businesses and property investors who often look for an exotic destination that is also a strategic regional hub for a variety of sectors.
Providing increased capacity in exhibition and convention space for large MICE groups and trade corporations to host their events will enable Colombo to take one step closer to becoming a top choice for MICE travel.
Port City Colombo, positioned as a multi-services Special Economic Zone (SEZ), offers a dedicated convention and exhibition centre plot that will enable the development of a world-class convention centre featuring 20,000 to 30,000 sq.m. of event space.
Port City Colombo will further allow for property developers to tap into the rising business and leisure travel trend, with a unique mix of future hospitality offerings and commercial complexes, including its landmark Colombo International Financial Centre (CIFC). With a total allocated land area of around 18.4 acres for hotel development, Port City Colombo will showcase unique hospitality offerings such as an integrated resort and theme park, a luxury marina hotel, Colombo’s first-ever beach resort, and more. These distinctive hospitality offerings will add approximately 3,500 keys — 4-star and above, to Sri Lanka’s hotel industry when Port City becomes fully operational.
With Port City Colombo at the helm, the city of Colombo is soon expected to be a preferred global destination for investment and tourism in the South Asian region.
For more information regarding Port City Colombo’s investment opportunities, please visit www.portcitycolombo.lk or email [email protected].
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