COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, 12 October 2026 – What if a vacation in Sri Lanka is not just an ordinary vacation but also an energy provider in the form of an investment in property? This is the concept of the latest proposal of Crystal Property Group, which proposes branded residences for sale to Indian customers looking for homes abroad. In addition to providing homes for the owners, it also provides hotel services and income from rental.
Chairman of the company and former Sri Lankan cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara co-founded this company with CEO Reza Magdon-Ismail, with the aim of providing a mix of ownership and hotel-style convenience. Owners have the option of staying at their residences or renting them while away. CPG manages all matters related to the operations and renting of the property through the company’s own hospitality group, The One Group of Hotels.
The destination is set within a region that is already intimately involved with Sri Lanka. In 2025, India provided 531,511 visitors—22.5% of the 2,362,521 arrivals to Sri Lanka—thus making India the largest source market for the island, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka. Crystal Property Group states that flights to and from Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi take between one and three-and-a-half hours, meaning that weekend trips and owner visits are now less complicated than they would be for further-flung destinations.
CPG’s existing hotel portfolio covers the southern coast and central highlands. For instance, Crystal Sands in Hikkaduwa opened its doors in May 2022, while The Six, a collection of villas located on the beach in Weligama, started operations in December 2023. According to CPG, The Six sold half of its total inventory within two weeks of opening and has achieved an occupancy of 65 percent thus far. Additionally, each of the villas was priced at around US$ 2 million, according to CPG’s report as of October 11 2026. Notably, these figures give an insight into CPG’s targeting of the high-end segment; however, the results mentioned above are given by the developer and do not guarantee future earning potential.
The offering does not stop at the beach. CPG has also begun selling wellness properties in Digana, central highlands of Sri Lanka for prices starting from US$815,000 and Mira at Weligama Bay. The path CPG has taken is to sell a fully furnished property while managing it on hospitality level, allowing the owners to either use it for themselves or to rent it out when they are not around.
There is also a story of perseverance behind this success. According to Magdon-Ismail, CPG managed to build and deliver properties despite currency devaluation in Sri Lanka, fuel crisis and other problems in the construction industry. For foreign buyers, such record may be more important than the view of the ocean because a luxurious property is attractive as long as it is completed and maintained by a reliable developer.
However, purchasing a property abroad entails much more than just having a passion for your chosen destination. CPG states that foreign investors might need to resort to some eligible ownership schemes in order to gain access to particular ownership forms, such as some types of freehold condos, in accordance with Sri Lankan law. Also, potential buyers must check the property title, allowed ownership model, taxes, fees, rental terms, fees for management, assumptions made in terms of occupying the place as well as possible ways out using the services of qualified local financial and legal professionals. In addition, it should be mentioned that expected rental income is not equivalent to guaranteed yield.
The timing is indeed strategic. As the Indians are already the largest group of visitors in Sri Lanka, CPG practically invites them to buy their own property instead of just spending a couple of nights in a hotel there. Whether it works and leads to sufficient demand for real estate will depend on many things, one of them being high profile of Sangakkara, and being another one – clear costs, solid business management, and profit margin that is able to endure close examination.
