Heritance Kandalama Awarded Silver at the 2025 ICRT Global Responsible Tourism Awards

Heritance Kandalama has once again brought pride to Sri Lanka’s hospitality industry, being recognised on the world stage at the 2025 International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT) Global Responsible Tourism Awards. The iconic property, and the only Sri Lankan hotel to receive an award this year, was honoured with a Silver Global Responsible Tourism Award for Climate Adaptation and Resilience, joining a set of distinguished organisations from across the world celebrated for their pioneering contributions to sustainable and responsible travel.

The Global Responsible Tourism Awards, sponsored by Sabre, honour businesses and destinations that demonstrate measurable, innovative, and scalable solutions to today’s tourism challenges. Winners are selected from regional gold awardees across Africa, Latin America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Subcontinent, representing the very best in global practice.

Emeritus Professor Harold Goodwin, Chair of the judging panel and Founder of ICRT Global, shared: “Responsible tourism is about making better places for people to live in and visit. As is clear from the 2022 Responsible Tourism Charter there is a wide variety of ways that businesses and destination managers can take responsibility. It is critically important that organisations support any statement of impact with facts. Our sector is still plagued with extravagant claims, we hope that national and EU mis-selling regulations will reduce this over time. All of the Global Responsible Tourism Award winners have explained how they decided what to take responsibility for, what they did and with what impact.  Congratulations to them all and we hope they will inspire other organisations to follow in their footsteps”.

Commenting on this achievement, Stasshani Jayawardena, Chairperson Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC said, “This recognition stands as yet another milestone in our sustainability journey, reaffirming our place among the world’s foremost champions of regenerative, resilient, and responsible hospitality”.

Part of the Heritance Hotels and Resorts portfolio, Heritance Kandalama continues to lead by example, demonstrating that sustainability and sophistication can coexist seamlessly.

Designed by Deshamanya Geoffrey Bawa, Heritance Kandalama stands as a masterpiece of tropical modernism, a hotel that lives in harmony with its landscape. Overlooking the tranquil Kandalama Lake and surrounded by the forested hills of Dambulla within Sri Lanka’s famed Cultural Triangle, the property has long embodied a powerful balance between architecture, nature, and sustainability.

Heritance Kandalama’s recognition for Climate Adaptation and Resilience underscores its long-term, science-based approach to sustainability. The resort operates on a holistic environmental model that is both measurable and deeply rooted in local ecology and community engagement. Over 200 acres of land are maintained as a biodiversity conservation forest, nurturing more than 170 bird species and a rich diversity of flora and fauna.

The hotel holds Sri Lanka’s longest continually certified Environmental Management System (ISO 14001) since 1996 and is a Travelife Gold Certified property recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). These achievements reaffirm Heritance Kandalama’s commitment to climate-conscious design, biodiversity protection, and community empowerment, principles that have made it a benchmark for eco-exclusivity across the region.

Source : Ada Derana Biz