By Ifham Nizam

‘City of Dreams Sri Lanka’ has completed its first year of operations with its leadership expressing confidence that the landmark integrated resort can help position Colombo and Sri Lanka as a destination for high-end tourism, entertainment and international business.

The first anniversary was marked with a special celebration bringing together customers, business partners, vendors and other stakeholders who supported the project through its development and first 12 months of operations.

Kamal Munasinghe, Senior Vice President, Colombo Hotels, Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts and General Manager, Cinnamon Life at ‘City of Dreams Sri Lanka’, said the anniversary was more than a celebration of the completion of the resort’s first year.

“It’s more than an anniversary. It’s time to say thank you because the last 12 months for us has been a really tough journey, Munasinghe said.

He said a project of the scale and nature of ‘City of Dreams Sri Lanka’ would have been difficult to imagine in Sri Lanka several years ago.

“A project like this doesn’t come regularly and for a country like ours to have an integrated resort like this, I think no one has even thought of, he said.

Munasinghe noted that large-scale projects of this nature faced considerable challenges and required substantial upfront commitments to achieve their long-term objectives.

He said the support extended by Sri Lankan customers and stakeholders during the first year had therefore been particularly important.

“Everyone who has been to our restaurants, every one of you who has been into our events, has held an event with us, who has stayed with us, who’s been supporting us, recommending us to all your partners, all your friends and family, big thank you to all of you from ‘City of Dreams Sri Lanka’ and my entire team, Munasinghe said.

“The first 12 months in operation has given a lot of strength and shown us who we can trust, who we can work with and who are our well-wishers, he said.

Munasinghe stressed that the project should not be viewed simply as a hotel.

“For us at ‘City of Dreams’, this is not just a hotel. This is something that we built for the destination and it is a destination itself, he said.

He described the integrated resort as a pioneering development for the region and said its creation had involved the efforts of many people over a long period.

“The dream started a long time ago. There were lots and lots of people who’ve been working really hard to bring ‘City of Dreams to life’, Munasinghe said.

He paid tribute to the teams at ‘City of Dreams Sri Lanka’, Cinnamon Life, Melco and the resort’s retail outlets for their commitment during the first year.

Looking ahead, Munasinghe acknowledged that the journey would continue to present challenges but said he remained confident about the future with the support of stakeholders.

“With all your support, I’m sure we can achieve what we need to achieve and bring Sri Lanka to the world. And as Sri Lankans, we can bring the best of Sri Lanka to the world with style and elegance, he said.

Vice President and Property General Manager of ‘City of Dreams Sri Lanka’ Michael Habashi said the first anniversary represented an important milestone for the project and its international partners.

“We’re very proud to be part of this project and to bring our international brand to Sri Lanka, Habashi said.

He said the quality and scale of the development enabled it to stand alongside established integrated-resort destinations internationally.

“If you were to pick this up and put it anywhere in those locations, it would look like it’s in place, he said, referring to destinations such as Macau, Las Vegas and Singapore.

“Our partners at John Keells had the vision to get to this point, but of course they couldn’t have gotten to this point in time without the support of everybody, he said.

He described Sri Lanka’s resilience and determination as key characteristics reflected in the project.

“This encompasses, I think, the Sri Lankan culture, the resilience, the determination to succeed. And I can see that in our partners at John Keells and Cinnamon Life, Habashi said.

Having travelled to several countries and been involved in opening integrated resorts, Habashi said the Sri Lankan property also connected visitors to the company’s international network.

“The beauty of this project is our guests now not only have access to City of Dreams Sri Lanka, but they have access to our international network through Macau, Manila, Cyprus, and now Sri Lanka, he said.