Sri Lanka Wins Leading Wellness Destination Award at SATA 2026
MALÉ, October 15, 2026 — Sri Lanka has been named the Leading Wellness Destination at the 10th South Asian Travel Awards (SATA) 2026, securing the Visitors’ Choice Award and strengthening the country’s profile as a regional destination for wellness tourism.
The award ceremony was held on October 8 at Barceló Nasandhura Malé in the Maldives, bringing together representatives from the tourism and hospitality industries across South Asia.
Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the Maldives, M. Rizvi Hassen, received the award on behalf of the country.
According to the Sri Lankan High Commission in the Maldives, the recognition reflects Sri Lanka’s longstanding heritage of Ayurveda and traditional healing practices, alongside its diverse natural landscapes and wellness tourism experiences that attract international visitors.
The award highlights an important segment of Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, which offers opportunities to combine traditional healing, relaxation, nature-based experiences and hospitality services for international travellers.
Wellness tourism also provides opportunities for local businesses, including Ayurveda centres, hotels, resorts, spas and specialised tour operators, to develop services targeting visitors seeking health-focused and restorative travel experiences.
The South Asian Travel Awards recognise achievements across the tourism and hospitality industries in Sri Lanka, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The awards cover multiple categories, including hotels, resorts, travel agencies, tour operators, airlines and other tourism-related organisations.
The 2026 edition attracted more than two million online votes, alongside assessments by a multinational panel of judges across seven cities, according to the event information.
Established in 2016, SATA has developed into a regional platform for recognising achievements and service excellence in South Asia’s travel, tourism and hospitality sectors. The 10th edition marked a decade of recognising industry participants across the region.
Sri Lanka’s latest recognition provides further international visibility for its wellness tourism offering, as the country seeks to strengthen its appeal across different visitor segments and expand the contribution of tourism-related services to the national economy.
