Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts to Launch Cinnamon Life in Colombo

Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts affirms that India is the number one tourist market for Sri Lanka. “And I think we are going to have our best year after 2018-19, for both the overall tourist arrival numbers and tourist arrivals from India” – Radhey Tawar.

Radhey Tawar, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts mentions to T3 that India is indeed the number one tourist market for Sri Lanka and every month has been better than before. Cinnamon Hotels contribute to around 15-20% of all the tourist arrivals coming to the country. And with the new flight connections coming in, it is more exciting than before, expresses Tawar. “And I think we are going to have our best year after 2018-19, for both the overall tourist arrival numbers and tourist arrivals from India. So, India market is very crucial for us, for Sri Lanka as well as Maldives.

Talking about targeted segments, Tawar says Cinnamon is ready to target with an all-segment approach, not only leisure, with diverse experiences for MICE, leisure, corporate travelers, and more. One can enjoy beach exploration or stay at wildlife resort at the Yala National Park or one can explore culture and heritage with the Kandy and Habarana properties. “For the Indian travelers, our Bentota property is very popular, which is also very popular for weddings and we are anticipating to do 12 weddings, out of which 5-6 are already confirmed.”

He further added, “In terms of the response received from each segment, 10-12% of the overall visitation has come from MICE. From a total traveler point of view, I think the country has 30-40 thousand travelers a month on average. The travelers from the meetings segment are mostly vested in Colombo. Initially, there were not much repeat guests, but now we see that travelers are coming back for more. We are doing a lot of work to position Cinnamon as a luxury brand. We have got the popularity for destination weddings.”

Tawar highlights a unique phenomenon going on in the Habarana lodge, which implies to the gathering of the wild elephants, which is the largest in Asia, happening between August and October. Travelers from across the globe come to see elephants and the landscapes in the most natural setting.

Talking about expansion, “In Colombo, we have a brand new integrated resort coming up, Cinnamon Life, which is going to be a really exciting project for Cinnamon as well as the country. It is an 800-room integrated resort, office complex, residences, mall as well as casino and gaming center, operated by a third-party independent operator. With Cinnamon Life coming in, we are looking at doubling our numbers by FY24, bringing it not just for the Cinnamon, but also to the country”, adds Tawar.

Cinnamon Life is expected to bring big-scale weddings, and conferences into the town, that the country at present doesn’t have the space to accommodate.  Colombo, at the same time, is trying to establish itself, as a destination where a traveler can spend more than one night, and it is still quite unexplored. “We are also looking at a collaboration with ‘Streets of Colombo’ to put forward to the tourists what has not been seen before. I think MICE is going to be segment that is going to witness complete shift and some record-breaking numbers”, concluded Tawar.