Sri Lanka

Six years after the bloody end of its long-running civil war, Sri Lanka is widely tipped for a tourism surge in 2016. Seven members of our expert panel have companies that operate in Asia and every one of them selected Sri Lanka among their predictions for countries likely to experience significant growth. A key factor is the growing level of investment in hotels, with numerous new properties due to launch in the coming year.

“Political stability has finally taken hold and the portfolio of character-driven boutique hotels has hit a tipping point of geographic coverage and stylistic diversity,” says Norman Howe, chief executive of Toronto-based Butterfield & Robinson. “Add to that the fact that it’s like taking all of the crazy diversity of India and shrinking it to a navigable and digestible size.”