City of Dreams Sri Lanka Betting on Guests From India, Growing Leisure Travel
Posted on: August 12, 2025, 12:32h.
Last updated on: August 11, 2025, 01:41h.
- City of Dreams Sri Lanka opened on August 2
- The casino is managed by Melco Resorts
- The casino and accompanying resort are banking of visitors from India
Melco Resorts opened City of Dreams Sri Lanka at John Keells Holdings’ Cinnamon Life mixed-use complex earlier this month. Company officials say the integrated resort casino is betting big on being able to attract guests from neighboring India.
Hong Kong-based Melco, one of the six licensed casino firms in Macau that additionally manages gaming resorts in the Philippines and Cyprus, is paying John Keells $6.25 million a year for two decades, or $125 million, to run the Cinnamon Life casino and 113-room high-end Nuwa Hotel.
Located in the heart of Colombo, Cinnamon Life is billed as a premier lifestyle hub where residential living intersects with leisure and hospitality. The destination, along with another 687 hotel keys under the Cinnamon Hotels brand, offers world-class dining, live entertainment, high-end local retail, outdoor events, and two swimming complexes.
Gihan Cooray, deputy chairman of John Keells, appeared on CNBC Inside Asia on Monday to discuss the $1.2 billion development. He says visitation from India to Sri Lanka remains limited, presenting Cinnamon Life and City of Dreams with a great opportunity.
‘Ripe’ for Growth
Cooray says Cinnamon Life is within one and a half hours of most key Indian cities.
The accessibility of Sri Lanka with India has improved substantially in recent years, Cooray says, because of infrastructure investments made through its $2.9 billion economic bailout from the International Monetary Fund. With stability restored, Cooray is optimistic about Sri Lanka’s tourism future.
We are sitting at the tip of the iceberg for us to tap into that market. Many Indians who come into Colombo enjoy the destination, and now, with the integrated resort we’ve just opened with City of Dreams, we think the opportunity is ripe,” Cooray explained.
Sri Lankan government data shows that the country, located off the southeastern tip of India, welcomed about 200K visitors last month. India accounted for only 18.5%.
If we look at the number of Indians traveling [to Sri Lanka], we really only need to tap into a small segment of that market to really move the needle,” the John Keells executive continued.
India is home to 1.45 billion people, the second most populated country in the world.
Cooray believes partnering with Melco, a highly respected gaming firm that operates in multiple global markets and has strong company and brand awareness throughout Asia, should appease some opposition and concerns that a large-scale casino could negatively impact the island country.
Transformative Casino
Lawrence Ho, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Melco Resorts, was on hand in Sri Lanka for the City of Dreams opening on August 2. The billionaire opined that Cinnamon Life will drive Sri Lanka’s future.
This project is about more than creating a luxury resort. It’s about helping to elevate Sri Lanka’s global profile and contribute to its tourism economy. A development of this scale has a cascading effect — it drives demand for local products, services, and supply,” Ho said.
Dubbed the first integrated resort in South Asia, Melco will share about half of the gross gaming revenue it generates at City of Dreams Sri Lanka casino with John Keells Holdings.
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