For generations, the journey to Kandy has been part of the experience itself. Travellers have wound their way through Kadugannawa, paused at roadside viewpoints, stopped for fruit stalls, tea shops and handicrafts, before eventually arriving in Sri Lanka’s hill capital. The road was often slow, sometimes frustrating, but it almost compelled visitors to spend time – and money – along the way.
That experience is about to change.
When the Central Expressway is eventually completed, Colombo and Kandy will effectively become neighbours in economic terms.
A journey that once consumed much of the day will be reduced to little more than two hours. Businesses will benefit from faster logistics, residents will enjoy improved mobility and investors will undoubtedly begin looking more seriously at opportunities in the Central Province.
Those are undeniable advantages.
Yet history suggests that major highways also produce unintended consequences.
Around the world, cities that once depended on passing traffic have often discovered that the very roads designed to improve access also allow travellers to bypass them altogether.
Visitors stop less frequently, spend less time and increasingly view the city as a waypoint rather than a destination.
Kandy should begin asking whether that risk applies here. The city is already one of Sri Lanka’s strongest tourism brands. The Sacred Temple of the Tooth Relic attracts pilgrims throughout the year, while its UNESCO World Heritage status gives Kandy an international recognition that few Sri Lankan destinations enjoy. Hotels continue to perform relatively well, domestic tourism remains resilient and the surrounding hill country offers enormous natural beauty.
But tourism economics is changing.
If visitors can comfortably leave Colombo after breakfast, visit the Temple of the Tooth, enjoy lunch and continue to Sigiriya, Dambulla or even the cultural triangle before evening, what happens to hotel occupancy in Kandy? What happens to restaurants that depend on overnight guests? What becomes of small retailers, craft shops, guides, entertainers and transport providers whose livelihoods depend upon visitors spending not hours but days?
The objective should therefore not simply be to attract more tourists.
It should be to persuade them to stay longer.
That requires thinking beyond traditional sightseeing. Kandy possesses assets that remain underdeveloped despite decades of tourism. Its colonial architecture, performing arts, music, cuisine, tea heritage, botanical gardens, religious diversity and surrounding villages could together support a far richer visitor experience than currently exists. Evening entertainment remains limited. Conference tourism remains relatively modest. Wellness tourism has barely scratched its potential. The city still lacks sufficient reasons for many visitors to spend a second or third night.
The expressway itself may therefore become either Kandy’s greatest opportunity or its greatest warning.
Better connectivity makes day trips easier, but it also expands the city’s catchment area for business, education, healthcare and investment. Professionals may increasingly choose to live in Kandy while conducting business in Colombo. Universities could attract more regional collaboration.
Technology companies seeking lower operating costs may find the Central Province increasingly attractive. Improved logistics could strengthen agriculture, high- value food processing and export industries across the region.
None of that, however, will happen automatically.
Infrastructure creates opportunity. It does not guarantee prosperity.
What Kandy arguably needs now is not another tourism campaign but a long-term economic masterplan. One that asks what kind of city Kandy wishes to become over the next twenty years.
Is it primarily a pilgrimage city? A heritage destination? A university city? A centre for conferences and culture? A wellness hub? A technology corridor? Or can it successfully combine all of those identities?
Perhaps the greatest mistake would be to assume that the expressway alone will deliver growth.
Roads bring people.
They do not decide whether people stop.
NewsLine says: The Central Expressway will shorten the journey to Kandy. It must not shorten the visitor’s stay. Be that as it may, the cities that prosper after great infrastructure projects are rarely those with the best roads. They are the ones with the clearest vision of what travellers should do once they arrive.
FIVE IDEAS TO KEEP VISITORS IN
KANDY
Rather than treating Kandy as a stop on the way to somewhere else, policymakers could consider making it a destination in its own right.
Develop a genuine night-time economy. Extend cultural performances, lakefront dining, evening markets and family-friendly attractions beyond the current limited offerings.
Build Sri Lanka’s conference capital. Kandy’s climate, heritage and accessibility could make it an attractive venue for regional conventions, academic conferences and corporate retreats.
Invest in wellness tourism. The surrounding hills, cooler climate and proximity to tea estates create ideal conditions for health, spa and recuperative tourism. Promote longer heritage trails. Encourage visitors to spend two or three days exploring not only the Temple of the Tooth but also Gadaladeniya, Lankatilaka, Embekke, tea factories, village experiences and the Knuckles region.
Create a Kandy Economic Development Authority. A dedicated body bringing together tourism, urban planning, transport, heritage and private investors could coordinate a long-term strategy instead of relying on fragmented initiatives.
