FINANCIAL CHRONICLE – Sri Lanka is exploring positioning its capital city as the gaming hub using innovative technology mainly from Chinese firms, the Deputy Tourism Minister said.
Sri Lanka’s gaming and integrated resort sector has rapidly transformed from a fragmented collection of small-scale clubs into a multibillion-dollar engine for high-end tourism.
The island nation inaugurated a two-day Global Game Connect (GGC) 2026 summit, which commenced Monday at Cinnamon Life’s City of Dreams, with new technology focusing on online gaming or ‘i-gaming’ as the centerpiece for this push.
The two-day event has drawn global software providers, game operators, and API integration specialists, particularly from the Chinese tech sector, looking to scale across Asia.
“We are positioning Colombo and Sri Lanka as a hub for the next wave of technological innovation and the gaming industry in this region,” Ruwan Ranasinghe, Deputy Minister of Tourism said addressing the opening session.
He said the government is focused on creating a regulatory and technological environment conducive to high-tech innovation.
The summit, endorsed by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, is part of a broader strategy to marry the country’s recovering tourism sector with high-growth digital industries.
Ranasinghe noted that Sri Lanka’s geographical proximity to India makes it a natural gateway for the massive South Asian gaming market.
“We have significant potential for industries like this, particularly for the growing markets next to us, like India. We can accommodate Sri Lanka as a platform for growing enterprises,” he said.
The GGC 2026 participants are mostly game operators, platform providers, payment providers, and top-level executives in the gaming industry.
Beyond technology, the government views the summit as vital for the tourism economy, attracting high-spending business travelers and showcasing the island as a dual destination for leisure and capital investment, the deputy minister said.
“Events like this benefit our tourism industry. We believe there is great potential to move forward by bringing technologies and investments down to Colombo,” Ranasinghe said.
A major catalyst for this shift was the 2025 opening of the $1.2 billion City of Dreams project in Colombo, which positioned the island as a primary gaming hub for the affluent South Asian market, particularly travelers from India.
This industry growth is evidenced by a $250 million annual revenue projection and a significant tax contribution, recently increased to 18% to bolster national reserves.
By integrating world-class gaming with the nation’s broader tourism goal of reaching 3 million arrivals in 2026, the sector has successfully extended the average length of stay and reduced the impact of traditional monsoon-driven seasonality.
Furthermore, the convergence of gaming with the new Digital Nomad Visa has fostered a vibrant ecosystem of long-term international visitors, ensuring that the industry serves as a modern force multiplier for Sri Lanka’s economic recovery. (Colombo/March 16/2026)
