The Sri Lankan government has announced plans to provide land for hotel development in outlying and emerging tourist destinations to support the country’s growing tourism sector.
Currently, Sri Lanka has around 59,000 hotel rooms, with 3,000 new rooms added this year, including 1,300 five-star units. While the Colombo area remains heavily concentrated with hotels—around 11,000 rooms per square kilometer—regions such as Bandarawela, Badulla, Ampara, and Jaffna face a significant shortage of accommodation.
Tourism officials urged private investors and hotel developers to establish facilities in these underdeveloped areas. The Tourism Board owns lands in locations such as Kuchchaveli, Trincomalee, Kalpitiya, Bentota, and Sigiriya, which have been opened for project proposals. Developers are invited to build hotels and other tourism-related facilities on these lands or through their own acquisitions.
Special attention is being given to Jaffna, recently identified by Lonely Planet as a promising tourist destination. While hotel options remain limited, the government, with support from the World Bank, has allocated funding for development. In addition, the Sri Lanka Cricket Board has initiated multiple projects in Jaffna, including a new stadium and associated facilities, which are expected to boost tourism.
Officials emphasized that new destinations often emerge organically once hotels and facilities are established. Citing Ella as an example, they encouraged developers to identify and develop new tourist locations, beyond the areas already named, to further diversify Sri Lanka’s tourism offerings.
