Gold Route at BIA meets the demand for luxury travel

COLOMBO :The global luxury travel market is mounting rapidly, motivated by demand for personalized services, luxury accommodations, and transportation. The market is expected to reach $3.3 trillion by 2032. This growth is being powered by a sharp rise in the number of individuals globally with high-net-worth (HNW). Zero in on the Asia-Pacific, it leads the luxury travel market with an impressive forecasted compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.1%.
With the trend of increasing luxury travel, there is an enormous increasing demand for unique, personalized, and experiential travel services. With the view to cater to the luxury travel needs of Sri Lanka in 2022, Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) introduced the Gold Route Service, a premier airport service, to its passengers. This service was introduced with the identification of a new business opportunity emerging to provide professionalism, ultra-luxury, and comfort to affluent travelers. This premier service provides the privilege to conduct all the departure and arrival formalities inside a luxury lounge that provides VIP treatment to its guests.
Driven by its appeal to luxury travelers, BIA Gold Route service has recorded robust revenue of LKR 94.9 million in 2024, marking 37% year-on-year growth during 2024 with the increase of affluent travel. Airport and Aviation Services Sri Lanka has enjoyed serving almost 3,000 esteemed tourists and bringing in LKR 175 million (191,446 USD) for the nation since its establishment in 2022 with the goal of generating USD earnings for the nation and serving the expanding luxury travel market.
Sri Lanka aims to achieve 3 million tourists this year and is focusing more on developing the luxury travel segment and offering a unique blend of authenticity and high-end offerings as global luxury travel evolves toward curated experiences. With this stance, providing more customized services to travelers is a must. Therefore, we believe Gold Route’s customized service would play a big role and will g more get a high demand from the HNWI which requires a personalized airport service.