Rethinking Tourism: Thema Collection
Building a Future That Benefits People, Nature and Communities
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is at a point where success must be measured by more than visitor arrivals and hotel occupancy. As the country looks towards a more sustainable future, the importance of protecting its natural and cultural heritage, empowering local communities and creating meaningful tourism experiences is becoming increasingly evident.
For Thema Collection, this philosophy lies at the heart of its approach to hospitality. Rather than simply providing accommodation, the group seeks to create experiences that reflect the character, culture and natural surroundings of each destination. Its commitment to this vision was recently recognised at the ICRT 2026 Indian Subcontinent Awards, where three of its properties received recognition across Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Regenerative Tourism and Nature Positive Tourism.
In this interview with Chandra Wickramasinghe, Founder Chairman of Thema Collection, we explore the thinking behind these recognitions, the role of responsible tourism in Sri Lanka, and why the future of the industry must extend beyond attracting visitors to creating a lasting positive impact on the places and communities that make the country unique.
Q: How would you describe Thema Collection’s approach to tourism, and what sets it apart from a conventional hospitality model?
A: We have never believed in building hotels simply to sell rooms. Sri Lanka has too much character for that. Every location has a story, a landscape, a community and a culture, and our job is to bring those elements into the experience. We want people to remember where they stayed because of the place they experienced, not because the hotel could have been anywhere in the world.
Q: Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is closely connected to its natural and cultural heritage. How important is it for tourism businesses to protect and showcase these assets responsibly?
A: It is not just important – it is self-preservation. Our beaches, forests, wildlife, Ayurveda, food and culture are the reasons people come here. If we consume these assets in the name of tourism, we are effectively eating into our own future. The industry has to learn to make money from our heritage without destroying the heritage that makes us valuable.
Q: Thema Collection recently received three recognitions at the ICRT 2026 Indian Subcontinent Awards. From a Sri Lankan tourism perspective, what significance do you believe these international recognitions hold for the country and its tourism industry?
A: The most encouraging part was not simply that three of our properties were recognised, but that they were recognised for three very different things – inclusion, regeneration and nature-positive tourism. It reinforces my belief that Sri Lanka does not need to follow models created elsewhere. We have the talent, heritage and natural assets to create our own, and in some areas, to lead rather than follow.
Q: Amba Yaalu – Kandalama received Gold in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion category. What does this recognition say about the changing role of women and inclusivity within Sri Lanka’s tourism industry?
A: Amba Yaalu proves that inclusion is not a nice sentence to put into a corporate report. It can be a business model. We have created an environment where women are not simply employees; they are the people running the hotel, making decisions and taking responsibility for the guest experience. Given the opportunity, women do not need special treatment – they need the same opportunity to lead.
Q: Wild Glamping Gal Oya was recognised with Gold in the Regenerative Tourism category. What does regeneration mean to Thema Collection, and how is this philosophy translated into action at the property?
A: For me, regeneration starts with a very simple question: when we leave, is the place better than when we arrived? That is a much higher bar than simply trying to reduce the damage tourism causes.
At Wild Glamping Gal Oya, we look at the property as part of a living ecosystem, not as an isolated hotel. That means working with local communities, creating livelihoods, supporting local suppliers and protecting the natural environment that makes the destination valuable in the first place. The objective is not just to minimise our footprint, but to ensure that tourism actively contributes to the health of the destination.
If we are only taking from a place, we are not building tourism – we are consuming the product we depend on.
Q: Ayurvie Weligama was recognised as a One to Watch in the Nature Positive Tourism category. Why do you believe nature-positive tourism is becoming increasingly important for Sri Lanka?
A: We cannot manufacture the things that give Sri Lanka its greatest advantage. We can build another hotel, but we cannot build another rainforest, another wildlife habitat or another coastline. Nature-positive tourism recognizes that nature is an economic asset as well as an environmental one. If we protect it and allow communities to benefit from it, tourism and conservation can reinforce each other.
Q: Receiving recognition across diversity, regenerative tourism and nature-positive tourism is significant. Do you see these three areas as interconnected when it comes to the future of tourism?
A: Very much so. Ultimately, it comes down to three questions: Are we benefiting people? Are we protecting the place? And are we creating a business that can sustain itself? You cannot keep one without the others. A hotel that makes money but destroys its environment is not sustainable. Neither is a beautiful project that cannot support the people working in it.
Manel plucking 
Jungle Walk with a Veddah 
Amba Yaalu staff
Q: How does Thema Collection view the role of tourism in Sri Lanka beyond simply providing accommodation and attracting visitors?
A: A hotel is never just a building with rooms. Its impact extends far beyond its gates – it buys from farmers and local suppliers, creates employment, develops skills, shapes visitor experiences and influences how a destination is perceived.
We therefore see our role as being much broader than simply bringing people into the country and providing them with a place to stay. We are temporary custodians of the places in which we operate. That comes with a responsibility to leave something of value behind – stronger local livelihoods, greater appreciation for the culture and environment, and opportunities for the communities around us.
The question we constantly ask ourselves is simple: what are we contributing to the destination, beyond the revenue generated by the hotel? Because if the destination does not benefit from tourism, then ultimately neither does the hotel.
Q: What is the philosophy behind Thema Collection’s approach to creating tourism experiences that are connected to Sri Lanka’s environment, culture and communities?
A: We don’t believe in taking a hotel template and dropping it into different parts of Sri Lanka. We start with the destination and ask: what should a hotel here actually be?
That is why our properties are deliberately different. Aliya should feel like Aliya, Deewara should feel like Deewara, and Gal Oya should feel like Gal Oya. The architecture, food, experiences and even the way the property operates should respond to the landscape, culture and community around it.
A hotel should belong to its destination, not simply occupy it. Otherwise, we are just putting a building in a beautiful place and calling it tourism.
Q: How important is it for Sri Lanka to move towards tourism models that focus not only on attracting visitors, but also on leaving a positive impact on the destinations they visit?
A: It is critical. We have spent many years talking about arrival numbers as though they are the only measure of tourism success. I think we need to ask better questions. How much does the country earn from each visitor? How much stays in the community? What happens to the environment? What skills and opportunities are created? One million visitors spending very little is not necessarily better than fewer visitors who create greater value.
Q: As Sri Lanka seeks to further develop its tourism industry, what needs to change to ensure that growth does not come at the expense of the country’s natural and cultural heritage?
A: We need to become much more disciplined about how we develop tourism. Growth is not the enemy; badly planned growth is. We need proper destination planning, sensible carrying capacities, better infrastructure and consistency in policy. And we need to stop measuring success simply by how many beds or arrivals we add.
Sri Lanka has something many destinations would spend billions trying to create –
extraordinary nature, culture, history and people, all within a relatively small island. Our job is not to turn that into a commodity and consume it. Our job is to make it more valuable by protecting it.
That, ultimately, is the kind of tourism growth I believe Sri Lanka should be pursuing.
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