News & market updates

The Northern Investment Summit 2026 will be held 21–22 Jan in Jaffna to attract investment into the Northern Province, backed by government, India mentorship and private partners; Hatton National Bank is partnering to provide finance and support capital access.

Sri Lanka will host the 39th CACCI Conference and Expo on 10–11 November 2025 at Cinnamon Life, Colombo. The event is expected to attract Asia-Pacific business leaders and investors and provide significant MICE, export and digital-networking opportunities for Sri Lankan hotels, exporters and service providers.

Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC graduated six trainees from its 18-month Heritance Rise management trainee programme. The programme provided cross-functional and international exposure and qualifies graduates to assume Assistant Head of Department roles within the group.

Sri Lanka held a "Business & Tourism Opportunities in Sri Lanka" forum in Brussels on 13 October 2025 to promote trade, investment and tourism, highlighting opportunities in tourism, pharmaceuticals, F&B, ICT, renewable energy and exports such as tea and coconut products.

Sri Lanka Tourism showcased at Luxperience 2025 in Sydney, recording more than 1,000 B2B meetings and featuring 14 Sri Lankan travel and hospitality brands, strengthening demand from the Australian luxury travel market.

Thailand's counselor highlighted the Sri Lanka–Thailand FTA as a milestone, citing opportunities in food, agriculture, tourism, healthcare and IT. The Sri Lanka–Greater Mekong Business Council held its 14th AGM and elected Nimal Ratnayake as President for 2025–2026.

Aitken Spence PLC has partnered with the Sri Lanka Air Force on the “Clean Today – Green Tomorrow” environmental programme, hosting SLAF visits to its hotels and plantations as part of a 5–6 month initiative to promote sustainable practices and support several UN SDGs.

The ILO held a high-level regional dialogue in Colombo (23–26 Sep 2025) to advance living wages and launched the Asia‑Pacific Digital Repository for Minimum Wages. The initiative seeks to align wage-setting with ILO principles, which could affect labour costs in the hospitality sector.

Sri Lanka MICE Expo 2025 opened on 23 September at Cinnamon Life, hosting 115+ international MICE and travel operators and expected to facilitate over 10,000 B2B meetings to promote Sri Lanka as a MICE destination.

The late Deshamanya Harry Jayawardena was posthumously awarded the 'Faces of South Asia' recognition at the South Asian Travel Awards 2025; his daughter Stasshani Jayawardena, Chairperson of Aitken Spence PLC and Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC, accepted the honour on his behalf.

SLTDA cut Sri Lanka's 2025 tourist arrival forecast to 2.6 million (from 3.0 million) as the SATA 2025 forum in Colombo pushed for regional collaboration, joint marketing and tech-driven, regenerative tourism to boost the sector.

Karma Fight League (KFL 006) will be held at Cinnamon Life on October 11, bringing international fighters and fans to Colombo and expected to boost tourism and hotel demand in the city.

Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC's Heritance Kandalama won Gold in the Climate Adaptation and Resilience category at the ICRT Indian Subcontinent Responsible Tourism Awards 2025. The award recognises the resort's sustainability initiatives and makes it eligible for the Global Responsible Tourism Awards.

Sri Lanka's planned nation-branding global tourism marketing campaign has been delayed and is unlikely to materialise this year, with officials saying approvals and fresh tenders will push the campaign at least a year out; industry leaders warn the delay risks losing arrivals and revenue.

LOLC sold part of its stake in Digital Mobility Solutions Lanka (PickMe) while foreign fund Tundra increased buying; PickMe dominated turnover with Rs.1 billion on 23.4 million shares and closed at Rs.132.75 (up Rs.0.50). Several other listed names saw notable turnover and mixed price moves.

Aitken Spence Travels MD Nalin Jayasundera urged a strong, consistent global marketing campaign to reach 5 million arrivals and $10 billion in tourism revenue by 2030. The German-Sri Lanka forum highlighted Germany as a key source market and promoted year-round tourism and wellness as growth opportunities.

Colombo Bourse fell as investors took profits, with the ASPI down 72 pts to 20,991 and turnover of Rs. 7.5bn (foreign net inflow Rs. 97m). Declines were led by CTC, SAMP, NDB and COMB while Alumex, Sierra Cables and Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings posted gains.

Aitken Spence PLC and Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings (Heritance Hotels) are partnering with the CCC Foundation on the 1333 Bikeathon to raise mental health awareness and promote the 1333 helpline, providing accommodation at Heritance properties along the route.

The Sri Lanka–Maldives Business Council concluded its 17th AGM and led a Maldives Business Forum that secured about $60–70m in potential investments, including three new hotel projects and a 100-room luxury mountain hotel. Sanjeewa Perera was appointed Council President and Aitken Spence’s Suranga Ratnayake was named Senior Vice President.

Aitken Spence PLC reported Q1 EBITDA of Rs. 4.1 billion (up 7% YoY), PBT of Rs. 1.0 billion (up 74%) and PAT of Rs. 405.37 million (up 339.6%). Maritime & Freight Logistics and Tourism led results, while Western Power boosted strategic investments.

Chandana Amaradasa was elected President of the Australia-New Zealand Business Council (SLANZBC) and urged Australian and New Zealand investment to expand Sri Lanka's tourism capacity, noting only ~9,500 of ~50,000 rooms are 4- and 5-star. Panelists also flagged raising digital economy contribution to 15% of GDP by 2030 and boosting NZ arrivals from 10,000 to 50,000.

Chandana Amaradasa was elected president of the Australia-New Zealand Business Council and urged ANZ investment to expand Sri Lanka's tourism capacity; New Zealand plans to boost arrivals from 10,000 to 50,000 and the government aims to lift the digital economy to 15% of GDP by 2030.

Heritance Hotels & Resorts (Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings) and Aitken Spence Travels (Aitken Spence PLC) are partnering with the CCC Foundation on the 1333 Bikeathon to raise national mental-health awareness and promote the 1333 helpline, offering accommodation at Heritance properties along the route.

Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC’s culinary teams won 116 medals at the Culinary Art Food Expo 2025, with Heritance Kandalama, Heritance Ahungalla, Sentido Heritance Negombo and Heritance Tea Factory securing multiple top awards.

Sri Lanka Tourism hosted a 10-day Familiarization Tour for ten leading Australian travel agents, with Aitken Spence Travels providing transport and five-star accommodation and a B2B session held at Cinnamon Life Hotel; Australian arrivals stood at 47,603 to 18 June 2025.

Stasshani Jayawardena has been appointed chairperson of Aitken Spence PLC and paid tribute to her late father in the company's annual report. The group operates across logistics, energy, plantations and hotels with multinational operations.

Aitken Spence PLC reported EBITDA of Rs. 25.4 billion for FY25 and PBT of Rs. 10.8 billion, a 61% YoY increase. Tourism contributed 54.9% of group contribution, with hotels showing higher occupancies and maritime/logistics also delivering strong results.

Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC's Turyaa Chennai marks its 10th anniversary on 15 May 2025 with a month-long celebration and community donations of wheelchairs to Tamil Nadu Railways. The hotel said it will pursue more renewable energy, cut single-use plastics and expand digital guest personalization.

Sri Lanka launched the UAE chapter of the Sri Lanka Conference Ambassador Programme on 29 April 2025 to promote MICE events and attract international conferences to Sri Lanka, boosting demand prospects for local hotel operators and Cinnamon Life’s 160,000+ sq ft MICE space. Ten ambassadors were appointed for 2025/2026.

The Sri Lanka–Italy Business Council and the Italian Embassy hosted a workshop on 'Winning & Retaining Italian Tourists' to discuss Italian traveller preferences and strategies to boost arrivals. Industry leaders and Italian agents discussed personalised itineraries, language issues and service standards to improve Sri Lanka's competitiveness.