Disha Shah Ghosh - Mumbai Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, based in Sri Lanka, is highly optimistic about the influx of visitors from the Indian market, particularly with the anticipated opening of the Cinnamon Life Integrated Resort in 2024.
This development is poised to become the largest in the island nation, featuring a diverse offering that includes 800 rooms in total. Within this integrated resort, there will be two hotels providing 687 rooms, an additional 102 rooms tailored for ultra-high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), facilities to accommodate the substantial MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) traffic arriving in the country, as well as commercial space, a casino, and a mall.
Talking to TravelBiz Monitor during his recent visit to India, Radhey Tawar, CCO, Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, said, “India is the number 1 source market for Sri Lanka, and Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts with 3 hotels in Colombo, and 8 resorts in Sri Lanka. We received an estimated 16-18% of visitors arriving in Sri Lanka.”
Currently, in India, the metro cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai are the key source markets for the hotel company, and they have seen big groups coming in from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and surrounding areas of Delhi. “There is a lot of appetite from travellers beyond the main metros. Our larger traffic comes from the main metros due to direct flight connectivity, and we are more for additional flights and newer routes to enhance visitors to our hotels and resorts.”
On an average, the company caters to 10-12 Indian weddings, and this number will only increase with the latest addition in their portfolio. “We are looking to 2 million visitors to Sri Lanka this year. There are a lot of new and exciting projects upcoming in the hospitality space and other sectors, and we expect 2025 to be a spectacular year, and are absolute certain that India will remain will remain the number one source market for Sri Lanka, and will continue to grow.”
Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts has a luxury and lifestyle who work with wedding partners to give them the right kind of access for product information to sell to their clients. “We are open to exploring new hotels opportunities in variety of markets.”
