Sri Lankan hospitality groups and the national carrier took at least a dozen awards at the 10th South Asian Travel Awards in Malé — a tally that only became visible this week, as the winners filed their announcements seven days after the ceremony itself.
The awards were presented on 8 October 2026 at Barceló Nasandhura Malé in the Maldives, Daily FT reported. The announcements summarised below were published on 15 October.
Hayleys Leisure took seven
The Kingsbury and Amaya Resorts & Spas won three Golds and four Silvers, a seven-award haul for Hayleys Leisure, the hospitality arm of Hayleys PLC.
| Award | Property | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | The Kingsbury, Colombo | Leading City Hotel (40 Rooms Above) |
| Gold | Amaya Hills, Kandy | Leading Hill Resort/Hotel |
| Gold | Amaya Lake, Dambulla | Leading Riverfront Hotel/Resort |
| Silver | Amaya Resorts & Spas | Leading Resort/Hotel Brand |
| Silver | Amaya Beach | Leading Family Hotel/Resort |
| Silver | The Fortress Resort & Spa | Most Romantic Hotel |
| Silver | Kings Steakbar, The Kingsbury | Leading Fine Dining Outlet in Hotel/Resort |
Hayleys Leisure Managing Director Rohan Karr said the spread of the awards “from the city to the hills, lakes and coast” showed the group’s standards held “wherever our guests stay.”
Cinnamon Lakeside took two
Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo won Gold for Leading Meeting and Conference Hotel/Resort and Silver for Leading Wedding Hotel/Resort, Daily FT reported separately.
General Manager Dushyantha Tittawella called the pair of awards “an incredibly proud moment”, and said meetings, conferences and weddings “have always been an integral part of our identity.”
SriLankan Airlines won its category — as the only entrant in it
SriLankan Airlines took the Customers’ Choice award for Leading International Airline, Hiru News reported.
The same report records a qualification that the airline’s own framing does not emphasise: SriLankan was the only international airline evaluated in that category this year. An uncontested award is still an award, but it is not evidence of a comparative judgment against rivals, and the distinction is worth preserving.
Chief Commercial Officer Dimuth Tennakoon said the recognition reflected the carrier’s commitment to passenger service and its contribution to regional connectivity. SriLankan operates close to 130 weekly flights to 15 destinations across India, Pakistan, the Maldives, Nepal and Bangladesh.
The running Sri Lankan total is at least 12
This desk has now recorded awards from this ceremony across three separate reporting waves, and no single filing has carried the full Sri Lankan list:
- Galle Face Hotel — Gold, Best Heritage Hotel (its first in that category)
- Fox Resorts — Leading Hospitality Development Company
Both were reported on 9 October, the day after the gala, by NewsFirst. Adding Hayleys Leisure’s seven, Cinnamon Lakeside’s two and SriLankan’s one brings the known Sri Lankan haul to 12.
That figure is a floor, not a total. It is assembled from the winners who chose to publicise, through the outlets that chose to carry them, and there is no reason to assume the list is complete.
The week-long gap is the other story
This desk covered the opening of SATA 2026 on 7 October, when the 10th edition drew industry representatives from Sri Lanka, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan.
Between the 8 October ceremony and these 15 October filings sits a week in which the largest Sri Lankan results went unreported. NewsFirst carried two winners the next day; the corporate announcements that disclosed the other ten arrived seven days later, written by the recipients. That is a normal pattern for industry awards — the trade press runs what companies send it, on the companies’ timetable — but it means the scale of the Sri Lankan result was not public when the event was news.
Not reported
None of the three filings gives the full category list or the other placed entrants, so with the single exception of the airline category it is not possible to say how many properties competed for any award.
No filing explains the judging method, who the judges were, or how the “Customers’ Choice” awards were voted on and by how many people. SATA’s relationship to the tourism trade bodies that take part is not described, nor whether entry carries a fee.
Neither Daily FT release says who accepted the awards, and neither is written as independent reporting — both read as company announcements carried by the paper’s travel desk. No Sri Lankan tourism authority has published a consolidated national tally, and none of the reports attempts one.
