Dr. Ruwan Perera, Chairman of Colombo International Airport Hotel and Founder of Little Japan, brings over 250 Japanese visitors to Sri Lanka in August 2026 — a five-fold jump from 2025 — as bilateral tourism and trade ties enter a new chapter
At a media roundtable held recently, Colombo International Airport Hotel and its cultural exchange platform Little Japan unveiled details of the largest Japanese delegation ever to visit Sri Lanka: more than 250 travellers arriving in late August 2026 under the campaign banner “Japan Returns to Sri Lanka.” The announcement marks a new high point in a decade-long personal mission by Dr. Ruwan Perera, the hotel’s Chairman, to strengthen tourism and trade links between the two nations.
Located near Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo International Airport Hotel serves as the country’s gateway for international delegations, transit travellers and business visitors, and is the parent company and hospitality arm behind Little Japan, the platform driving this year’s delegation. Under Dr. Perera’s chairmanship, the property is positioned at the centre of the “Japan Returns to Sri Lanka” campaign, with the Chairman describing continued engagement with Japanese travellers, investors and institutions as a long-term priority for the hotel, not a one-time event.
Dr. Perera’s connection to Japan runs deep and personal. Having lived in Japan for more than half his life and built a career as an IT professional holding several global patents, he has spent over a decade championing people-to-people ties between the two countries — organising the Japan Expo in 2018 and 2019 and a Japan Festival in 2020, before turning his attention to larger cultural and business delegations. In 2024, he hosted a 100-member group of Japanese mothers on a tour of Sri Lanka; in 2025, a 45-member business delegation followed. This year’s 250-plus arrivals represent more than a five-fold increase in scale over 2025 alone — the clearest signal yet of the momentum Little Japan has built.
The delegation’s growth mirrors a broader national trend: Japanese arrivals to Sri Lanka rose 55% in 2024 and a further 25% in 2025, the fastest sustained growth of any recent period for this source market. Little Japan’s organisers note that this year’s delegation lands at the crest of that momentum, building on more than a decade of relationship-building by Dr. Perera that predates the recent national tourism recovery. The delegation will be based in Colombo, with the wider itinerary covering destinations across the island.
Dr. Perera’s advocacy extends beyond tourism and business. An active philanthropist, he has helped develop more than 50 schools across Sri Lanka, and during the pandemic organised a 40-member Japanese delegation — including doctors and nurses — that donated over LKR 10 million and 800kg of essential medicines to Colombo General Hospital, underscoring a relationship with Japan built on humanitarian commitment as much as commercial opportunity.
