Eight Sri Lankan tourism operations recognised at Indian Subcontinent Responsible Tourism Awards, two take Gold and now head for the global awards in London
Chandra Wickremesingha’s THEMA Collection Properties Shine
Sri Lanka has picked up an impressive eight recognitions at the 2026 ICRT Indian Subcontinent Responsible Tourism Awards, with two local tourism operations taking Gold in a showing that puts the country’s hospitality industry firmly in the regional spotlight.
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Amba Yaalu Kandalama won Gold for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, while Wild Glamping Gal Oya took Gold for Regenerative Tourism. Both now qualify to compete against regional Gold winners from around the world at the Global Responsible Tourism Awards in London on November 2. Both are part of Thema Collection as is Ayurvie Weligama.
But this is rather more than a story about eight awards.
Behind Sri Lanka’s performance is an unusual collection of ideas about what tourism can do for a country: a hotel operated entirely by women, the revival of traditional Sri Lankan rice, protection of rainforest, preservation of tea-country heritage, regeneration of former chena land and even an attempt to turn an invasive aquatic weed into an economic opportunity.
The awards, announced in New Delhi on September 4, recognise tourism operations not merely for attracting visitors but for their contribution to communities, nature, culture, inclusion and the response to climate change.
Amba Yaalu Kandalama’s Gold is particularly striking. The property has been recognised as Sri Lanka’s first hotel operated entirely by women, extending from management through operational roles including maintenance.
Its approach goes beyond the number of women on the payroll. Flexible working arrangements, safe transport, anti-harassment measures and training form part of a model which also seeks to create economic opportunities for women in surrounding communities through agriculture, floriculture and tourism.
Wild Glamping Gal Oya’s Gold tells a very different Sri Lankan story.
Built around land previously used for chena cultivation, the operation has combined low-impact tourism with organic farming and environmental regeneration while creating opportunities for local guides, farmers and artisans.
Its engagement with the Rathugala Vedda community was also recognised, making tourism part of a relationship with the people and landscape surrounding the property rather than an activity separated from them.
Sri Lanka collected Silver through The Rainforest Ecolodge in the Nature Positive category, Heritance Tea Factory for Championing Cultural Diversity and Royal Palms Beach Hotel for Adapting to Climate Change.
The Rainforest Ecolodge, adjoining the Sinharaja Rainforest, was developed on an existing tea estate without clearing forest. Its physical footprint has remained unchanged since opening in 2012, while visitor numbers and wildlife encounters are managed to reduce pressure on the surrounding environment.
At Heritance Tea Factory, a former tea factory in the central highlands has been transformed into a hotel without discarding the history which created it. Tea plucking, tasting and interpretation of the plantation story have become part of the visitor experience, preserving a piece of Sri Lanka’s economic and cultural history while generating employment.
Royal Palms Beach Hotel in Kalutara was recognised for measures including renewable energy, rainwater harvesting, wastewater reuse, composting and coastal ecosystem protection. Its 2025 carbon assessment recorded a 19 per cent reduction against its 2018 baseline.
Three further Sri Lankan operations were named “One to Watch”: Jetwing Kaduruketha for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Ayurvie Weligama for Nature Positive tourism and Scott Dunn Sri Lanka for Regenerative Tourism.
At Jetwing Kaduruketha, around 50 acres of the 60-acre property are devoted to agriculture, including the revival of heirloom Sri Lankan rice varieties. The project combines the tourism business with village livelihoods, local procurement and farming.
Ayurvie Weligama was recognised for combining its Ayurvedic wellness offering with local procurement, renewable energy, water conservation and environmental measures.
Scott Dunn Sri Lanka’s recognition comes from its partnership with the Lanka Environment Fund on Project Hyacinthesis, which tackles invasive water hyacinth by attempting to create economic value from what would otherwise be an environmental problem.
The harvested plant is being developed into material that can be used by local artisans and businesses, creating a circular economy around its removal while helping restore affected waterways.
There is an important message in all this for Sri Lanka.
For years, the national tourism debate has been dominated by numbers. How many tourists arrived? How many hotel rooms were occupied? How much foreign exchange did they bring? When will Sri Lanka reach three million, four million or five million visitors?
Those numbers matter enormously to an economy which needs foreign exchange, employment and investment. But counting people walking through an airport cannot by itself measure whether tourism is succeeding.
The more important question is what remains after the visitor goes home.
If tourism creates sustainable jobs, buys from neighbouring farmers, protects forests, keeps traditional agriculture alive, creates opportunities for women, preserves culture and gives communities a financial reason to protect the places tourists have travelled thousands of miles to see, the value of that visitor extends far beyond the hotel bill.
That is why these eight Sri Lankan recognitions matter.
They demonstrate that one of the country’s most important industries does not necessarily have to choose between commercial success and environmental or social responsibility.
Indeed, the most successful tourism of the future may depend upon combining them.
Sri Lanka possesses beaches, mountains, wildlife, ancient cities, tea country, rainforest and a cultural inheritance that many destinations would spend billions trying to manufacture.
We already have it.
The challenge is ensuring that the pursuit of ever larger arrival numbers does not eventually diminish the very things those visitors are coming here to experience.
The two Sri Lankan Gold winners will now carry that argument onto the global stage in London in November.
Be that as it may, perhaps the best advertisement for Sri Lanka is not telling the world that we are beautiful. It is showing the world what we are doing to remain so.
