Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. On behalf of Sri Lanka Tourism and the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Mumbai, I would like to welcome all of you to this networking session.
A particularly warm welcome goes out to our Deputy Minister of Tourism, Hon. Prof Ruwan Ranasinghe who is here with us today.
In similar events, in the recent past, particularly in early January this year when I addressed many of you and in September 2025 when I addressed the event promoting Sri Lanka as a wedding destination, I talked much about tourism to Sri Lanka and the need to diversify traditional tourism and expand it to include forms of travel focused on the arts, literature and more broadly culture.
Diversification of tourism does not mean abandoning traditional tourism foci as it has existed for a very long time. This is about expanding and diversifying the focus on international travel to our country based on the needs and demands of contemporary times.
For me, it also makes sense to focus on these areas of tourism activity as Sri Lanka’s chief diplomatic representative in the city of Mumbai overseeing our interests in the Western states of India which includes Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa.
Without repeating what I have said on earlier occasions, allow me to say some more about this theme by focusing on cuisine.
In doing so, we should look at food both as culture as well as history and identity. Let me explain. For instance, while Sri Lankans eat dhal like many Indians, we cook it with coconut milk, often also mixed with dried fish flakes which is called Maldive fish. Right here is an example of the cosmopolitanism of the Lankan foodscape. While dhal may have come from India, the practice of using dried fish flakes perhaps came from the Maldives while infusing it with coconut milk and the spices used is very local.
Similarly, the well-known one-pot meal lamprais combining rice, meats and vegetables came from the Malay peninsula via the Dutch colonial travellers while its preparation is very Sri Lankan in terms of spices used and how it is cooked today.
Sri Lankans call large onions ‘Bombay Onions’, a small variety of green chilies ‘Kochchi’ and a particularly sought after variety of banana ‘Kolikuttu’, all of these are indicative of where these items may have initially come to Sri Lanka from, possibly in the colonial period through trade. I am sure you can recognize the sounds of both Kochin and Calicut in the last two words.
I mentioned all this to note that food, like culture in general is not only about eating or aesthetics. These are also about identity, and if perceived smartly about considerable and hitherto not fully tapped potential for tourism in the 21st century.
In keeping with this line of thinking, the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Mumbai in collaboration of HyLo Restaurants in Mumbai, Sri Lanka Tourism, Cinnamon Grand, Colombo, are organizing ‘Sailing to Serendib,’ a dedicated Sri Lankan culinary experience in the two HyLo locations in Mumbai on 7th and 8th February 2026. Part of the proceeds from the twin events under ‘Sailing to Serendib’ will be credited to the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ effort managed by the Government of Sri Lanka. Information on the event is available outside, and we can also send more information to those who want them.
Let me welcome you yet again, very warmly to this conversation.
I hope you will have a fruitful evening which will open more doors for people in India to travel to our country and enjoy what we have to offer.
Thank you.