Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts launches UPI payments across its Sri Lanka and Maldives properties.
In Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts has implemented UPI payments throughout its portfolio, enabling Indian tourists to make payments using their current UPI apps while visiting these locations. By doing away with the necessity for currency exchange, managing cash, or using international cards, the action aims to ease the burden on Indian visitors and is consistent with the chain’s larger emphasis on guest-centric travel design.
With demand encompassing leisure travel, destination weddings, and MICE, India continues to be Sri Lanka’s largest inbound tourism market. With 17 properties in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, including city hotels, beach resorts, cultural stays, and wildlife lodges, Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts has been more closely matching its offerings to the travel habits of Indians, including length of stay, family-friendly vacations, and expectations for digital-first experiences.
The launch of UPI is indicative of a change in how travel destinations are responding to the surge in outbound travel from India, where the ease of payment is increasingly influencing hotel and destination selection. UPI is already the most popular daily payment method for Indian tourists, and having it available at a place eliminates a typical source of annoyance when travelling abroad.
At Outbound Travel Mart (OTM) 2026, Hishan Singhawansa, CEO of Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, discussed this change as a panellist on the topic of “Beyond the Usual: Mapping Where Indian Travellers Will Go Next.” He claimed that in addition to experience, Indian tourists are placing a higher value on comfort and familiarity. He pointed out that rather than being a stand-alone technological endeavour, the introduction of UPI throughout Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts’ portfolio is a sensible reaction to the way Indian tourists currently live and spend their money.
Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams Sri Lanka, a sizable integrated resort with hotels, casino, dining, retail, and conference space, serves as another pillar of Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts’ India-focused strategy. The hotel is well-positioned to facilitate the expansion of Indian MICE travel, destination weddings, and city stays that reposition Colombo as a leisure and events destination rather than a transit point. It has already received encouraging traction from Indian visitors and MICE groups.
With payment infrastructure increasingly becoming a part of the entire travel experience rather than a back-end function, Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts is presenting Sri Lanka as a destination that blends proximity, experience diversity, and digital ease as Indian outbound travel volumes rise.
