More than 200 senior hospitality leaders, hotel owners, developers and policymakers are expected to gather in Colombo on September 29 for the International Hospitality Leaders’ Conference (IHLC) 2026, which aims to develop a collective roadmap for Sri Lanka’s hospitality industry.
Organized by the Institute of Hospitality (IOH) Sri Lanka Chapter, the conference will be held at Cinnamon Grand Colombo, bringing together international experts in tourism, hospitality management, technology, sustainability and workforce development.
The conference will feature a lineup of international speakers, including Sherin Francis, Principal Secretary for Tourism at the Seychelles’ Department of Tourism; Sudeep Jain, Managing Director for South West Asia at IHG Hotels & Resorts; and Giampaolo Ottazzi, Interim Managing Director and General Manager of Raffles Singapore.
Other confirmed speakers include Belgian trend analyst and change psychologist Herman Konings, CodeGen Group President and CEO Dr. Harsha Subasinghe, and hospitality revenue management expert Faisal Murtaza.
Ramesh Dassanayake, Chairman of the Institute of Hospitality Sri Lanka Chapter, said the conference was designed to move beyond discussions and establish a clear direction for the industry.
“With voices like these joining us from across the region and beyond, I’m confident this conference will deliver more than dialogue; it will deliver direction for where Sri Lankan hospitality goes from here,” he said.
A key outcome of the conference will be the Vision 2030 Whitepaper, which organizers describe as the hospitality sector’s first collective industry roadmap.
The programme will focus on six strategic areas: leadership and governance, commercial performance, digital transformation, sustainability, workforce development and destination competitiveness.
Organizers said the conference would draw on the Institute of Hospitality UK’s global network and more than 80 years of international experience to support Sri Lanka’s hospitality sector.
Registration is open at Rs. 25,000 per delegate, covering a full day of conference sessions, networking and hospitality experiences.
Further details and registration are available at vision2030.ihsrilanka.com