Sri Lanka’s tourism foreign exchange revenue for last year reached $ 3.2 billion with a 1.6% increase from 2.3 million arrivals, the latter amounting to a growth of 15.1% compared to 2024. The country hopes to achieve $ 4 billion in tourism revenue this year.
In this context, authorities recently revealed plans to expand Sri Lanka’s Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE), wedding, and sports tourism to attract high-spending travellers. Many stakeholders see great potential in these segments, but also highlight the need for proper promotional efforts.
Ongoing initiatives
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam outlined Sri Lanka Tourism efforts to develop these sectors while highlighting the potential and expected revenue growth.
He stated that MICE tourism promotions remained a vital component of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau’s (SLTPB) mandate, and explained that Sri Lanka Tourism was working to strengthen the country’s positioning in the MICE segment.
As MICE tourism comprises these four main segments, he noted that weddings were emerging as an extremely high-potential segment. He highlighted that Sri Lanka had conducted wedding roadshows and events in major Indian cities and Dubai, and was planning further promotional roadshows this year specifically for weddings.
“Sri Lanka is one of the most ideal and attractive destinations for high-end Indian weddings. Indian weddings tend to involve large groups of guests, usually ranging from 300 to over 750, and extended multi-day ceremonies. Sri Lankan hotels are geared to cater to the cultural and logistical requirements of Indian weddings, including facilitating religious customs, ceremonial requirements, and specific catering needs,” Hewawasam said.
As a result, he shared that Sri Lanka had hosted 15 large-scale weddings with over or around 750 guests and 21 mid-sized weddings with fewer than 400 guests last year. He described wedding tourism as a fast-growing segment, noting that Indian diaspora communities, especially those based in the Middle East, were also choosing Sri Lanka as a wedding destination.
Thus, he highlighted this as a means to overcome the country’s revenue concerns. This is because wedding tourism generates significant revenue, as such visitors usually stay for several days and spend over $ 450 per day. Hewawasam added that this segment contributed to improving hotel occupancy levels and was less affected by seasonal changes, making it an important focus area in efforts to increase tourism revenue.
The SLTDA Chairman further identified incentive travel as another high-potential segment, especially from India’s growing corporate sector. He explained that Indian companies usually organised incentive travel, sales conferences, and corporate events in nearby destinations. With many concerned about ease of air travel, Sri Lanka benefits from direct air connectivity with major Indian cities and a visa-free entry regime, which facilitates conference travel.
Hewawasam also noted that Sri Lanka served as a neutral ground for regional corporate gatherings, enabling companies with partnerships across countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan to convene in Sri Lanka. He stated that since December last year, the country had seen a steady inflow of conferences from sectors including pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and insurance.
He added that authorities were working with the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) to attract more conferences by engaging directly with event organisers in India, conducting familiarisation tours, and organising promotional events and roadshows in cities such as Mumbai and New Delhi.
He noted that exhibition and trade event tourism was also being promoted in collaboration with industry bodies such as the Sri Lanka Association of Professional Conference, Exhibition, and Event Organisers (SLAPCEO), Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO), and other exhibition organisers, with the aim of increasing Sri Lanka’s share in regional exhibitions and trade-related MICE activities.
Hewawasam further highlighted sports tourism as another key segment, noting ongoing collaboration with sports federations to attract international tournaments and teams.
“Last year, the New Zealand All Blacks Under 85 kg team came to Sri Lanka. We are working with the Ministry of Sports and Sri Lanka Rugby to bring back rugby tourism. We are also working with golf associations, especially in India, to promote golf tourism. The cost of playing golf in Sri Lanka is relatively cheap compared to India. Furthermore, the vividness and diversity, especially in climate conditions of Sri Lanka’s golf courses, including those in Colombo, Kandy, Trincomalee, and Hambantota, are more sought after by golfers,” he said.
The SLTDA Chairman further noted that Sri Lanka was also promoting cricket tourism through very close coordination with cricket authorities and sports tourism organisers, as well as attracting amateur sports teams and sports-related travel groups. In addition, he said that nautical tourism was being explored, with discussions underway with the marine chambers to develop marine sports and potentially host a yacht festival in Sri Lanka.
“Strategically, we are treating these pillars as vital segments, and we are hoping to improve and expand them,” he said.
Commenting on MICE tourism’s contribution to overall tourism performance, Hewawasam stated that the segment currently comprised around 9–10% of total tourist arrivals. He noted that the segment had recorded year-on-year growth of around 2% from last year to this year. However, he expressed confidence that, especially with India as a key source market, MICE tourism had the potential to grow to 15% of Sri Lanka’s total tourism segment.
Regional potential of wedding tourism
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance (SLTA) Co-Chair Malik J. Fernando noted that wedding tourism in particular opened a pathway for guests to experience Sri Lanka during a joyful occasion. He described this as a favourable positioning and a good Sri Lankan experience. This is in addition to their significant logistical spending, given the nature of weddings. He added that this also meant that these guests who travelled for the wedding had potential to return.
Moreover, industry stakeholder, SLTDA Board member, and Tourism Advisory Committee member Nihal Muhandiram highlighted the revenue potential of wedding tourism, especially from high-net-worth travellers of Indian origin. He noted that globally recognised wedding destinations such as Bali attracted similar markets, and Sri Lanka was also increasingly positioning the country as a competitive option.
He explained that such high-revenue-earning weddings had already taken place in Sri Lanka. Among them, he noted one that took place recently, with high total expenditure and over 400 guests travelling to Sri Lanka, including some arriving on private jets. He noted that such weddings usually involved several days of ceremonies and activities, generating a significant amount of revenue not only for hotels but also across multiple supporting sectors in tourism.
Muhandiram explained that destination weddings created economic linkages in addition to hotel accommodation, including demand for event planners, decorators, florists, dressmakers, beauticians, and other service providers. He noted that in addition to direct hotel revenue, these events supported the livelihoods of over 100–200 individuals involved in preparation and execution, while also generating demand across supply chains such as food, transportation, and event infrastructure.
“Weddings are the next strategy to boost Sri Lanka’s market position. Destination weddings attract premium-paying visitors, especially those involved in business, who prioritise service quality over prices. They are willing to spend significant amounts, contributing to higher foreign exchange earnings. Thus, we need to position Sri Lanka as a wedding destination, creating awareness and positive perception about the country,” he said.
Muhandiram also highlighted the broader economic impact of wedding tourism, noting that increased demand for hotel rooms and services contributed to higher room rates and overall tourism revenue. He explained that, similar to the seasonal demand spikes during festive periods, the growth of wedding tourism created additional demand besides the usual leisure travel, thereby improving revenue generation for the country.
“Our potential in this market is immense. We are yet to realise a larger portion of this potential. Visitors who attend weddings in Sri Lanka usually develop positive perceptions of the country’s natural environment, infrastructure, and hospitality. Hence, improving international awareness and promotion of Sri Lanka as a wedding destination would help attract more high-spending visitors and support tourism growth,” he said.
The need for promotional efforts
Meanwhile, Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in Tourism (ASMET) President Prebudda Jayasinghe highlighted that in order to attract high-spending tourists from MICE, wedding, and sports tourism, Sri Lanka must implement proper marketing strategies. He noted that at present there was a large number of bloggers and influencers, especially paid ones, who promoted backpack travel and forms of budget travel.
He thus noted the need to improve efforts in destination promotion to attract high-end travellers. For this, he suggested inviting media from high-end channels to showcase Sri Lanka, highlighting luxury and high-end accommodation and other attractions.
“Proper marketing is the path forward. Until the pandemic, Sri Lanka Tourism undertook promotional efforts, engaging with media targeting high-end tourism. However, following the pandemic, this trend changed. While it is important to have segments such as backpack travellers as well, attracting the high-end market is a separate concern,” Jayasinghe added.
He also noted that under MICE tourism, most of the high-end tourism was confined to the incentive segment in Sri Lanka.
Effective marketing for sustained growth
SLAITO President Nalin Jayasundera also highlighted promotional efforts, stating that Sri Lanka had the necessary facilities and capacity to expand MICE, wedding, and sports tourism, especially in terms of accommodation and service capability.
He noted that the country had sufficient hotel rooms both in Colombo and across other regions. Furthermore, he added that Sri Lanka was considered as a reasonably priced destination capable of competing with other regional tourism markets, and not simply a cheap option.
Jayasundera noted that Sri Lanka had the capacity to facilitate MICE tourism without constraints, supported by adequate hotel infrastructure, inventory operational knowledge, and a wide range of activities suitable for MICE travellers.
He further highlighted India as one of the most important source markets, noting that Sri Lanka benefitted from strong air connectivity, with approximately 144 weekly flights from Indian cities and visa-free access, which made the country an accessible and attractive destination for MICE travellers.
Jayasundera pointed out that the key requirement to increase tourism revenue was effective destination marketing, noting that targeted promotional campaigns aimed at the right market segments would help generate demand. He explained that increased demand would result in higher room rates and increased foreign exchange earnings, directly benefitting the tourism sector and the wider economy.
He also highlighted the potential of sports tourism, noting that Sri Lanka already attracted international school- and club-level cricket teams from countries such as England, India, and Australia, and regions such as the Middle East.
Sports tourism includes two main segments – participants and supporter groups. “The recent India-Pakistan Cricket World Cup match attracted a large number of supporters, especially from India. This even led to full hotel occupancy and increased room rates due to high demand. Thus, as a priority, we need to implement marketing efforts properly, followed by enough activities,” he said.
Jayasundera also noted the importance of hosting international-level sporting events to improve Sri Lanka’s sports tourism segment. He noted that organising events such as international golf tournaments, surfing competitions in locations such as Arugam Bay, and other sporting activities would attract high-spending visitors.
“Sri Lanka requires the creation of a proper event calendar, including sports and other major international events, to help generate sustained demand for the country as a tourism destination. Hence, creating demand through effective marketing and hosting internationally recognised events is essential,” he stressed.