City of Dreams Sri Lanka (pictured) – due on Saturday (August 2) to see the opening of its casino at the new complex in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital – “can benefit” from the economic “boom” in neighbouring India.
That is according to comments from Krishan Balendra, chairperson of John Keells Holdings Plc, the local partner in the development, which has been described as a US$1.2-billion venture.
Gaming group Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd, which will run the casino, had previously mentioned it would spend US$125 million as its contribution toward the resort.
Mr Balendra was cited by Sri Lanka’s Sunday Times as having said in an interview ahead of the casino portion opening: “India’s economy is growing at a phenomenal rate and we can benefit from that boom.
“We should easily be able to attract 1 million Indians [to Sri Lanka] from 400,000 last year, with new facilities.”
He added that what he termed the “take-off” of a “long-overdue” promotion effort for Sri Lanka inbound tourism would “help immensely”.
The John Keells boss added, referring secondly to meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions business: “We are targeting tourists and MICE traffic and there are many queries on using our facilities, particularly from Indians since we have a world-class casino operator.”
The company hopes to bring to City of Dreams Sri Lanka guests from China as well as India.
Data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority indicate that the country recorded just over 2.05 million visitor arrivals in 2024, of which 416,974 were generated by Indians, up 37.7 percent from the 302,844 recorded in 2023, and making India the country’s top-ranked source market.
China was ranked fifth for supplying tourists to Sri Lanka in 2024. It accounted for 131,681 arrivals, which was up 78.5 percent year-on-year relative to 2023’s 73,788 arrivals from that country.
City of Dreams Sri Lanka opened last autum a 687-room hotel branded Cinnamon Life.
As well as managing the casino, Melco Resorts will manage a 113-room Nüwa hotel at the Colombo complex, which will also open on August 2.
Nüwa is a brand that already features at the group’s City of Dreams property in Macau and at the City of Dreams Manila casino complex, which the casino brand manages in the Philippine capital.
According to John Keells’ annual report, dated May 27, Nüwa at City of Dreams Sri Lanka will be on the top five floors of the hotel tower at the resort, with “dedicated access to the casino”. The latter will have 180,000 square feet (circa 16,725 sq. metres) available for gaming operations.
Melco Resorts was awarded a licence to run a gaming venue in Sri Lanka valid for a “term of 20 years effective from 1 April 2024”, according to previous information from the firm.
