Winter bookings ‘significantly higher’ than last year- JKH chief

Sri Lanka is heading towards a strong winter tourist season, with bookings showing a significant year-over-year increase, according to John Keells Group Chairperson Krishan Balendra.

Speaking at a panel discussion following the launch of the City of Dreams Sri Lanka last Saturday, Balendra provided an optimistic outlook for the nation’s tourism sector. 

He noted that the booking pace for the upcoming winter season is robust across the John Keells Holdings (JKH) portfolio, which includes three city hotels in Colombo and eight resort hotels around the country.

“For the country in general, the winter bookings are looking very strong,” Balendra said. “The bookings that we have today for the winter season are significantly higher than what we had in early August last year.”

This positive trend has fuelled confidence within the conglomerate for a successful peak season. “We are confident that this upcoming winter will be strong,” he added.

While it is still too early to comment on detailed booking numbers for the newly launched City of Dreams Sri Lanka, Balendra confirmed the property is already showing positive momentum.

“We can see momentum each month. The occupancy is better than the previous month,” he explained, noting a clear upward trend. “June was better than May, July was better than June, and each month is getting better.”

This growing occupancy came ahead of the property becoming fully operational. The official launch was expected to provide a further boost leading into the peak tourist season.