eMarketingEye (EME), a leading hospitality digital marketing agency, has
launched Sri Lanka’s First AI Visibility Study for Hotels, offering groundbreaking
insights into how hotels in Sri Lanka appear across leading AI platforms (LLMs)
such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity.
The AI Visibility Study analysed how Sri Lankan hotels are represented in AI-
generated responses across high-intent travel prompts and evaluated
factors including brand mentions, recommendation frequency, citation
visibility, and competitive positioning in AI search environments.
The analysis was conducted using AEYEPULSE, eMarketingEye’s proprietary AI
Visibility Monitoring System. The platform evaluates brand visibility across AI-
generated travel recommendations, conversational search prompts,
citations, and category-specific discovery patterns across leading AI
platforms (LLMs).
The study marks one of the most comprehensive AI visibility assessments
conducted for Sri Lanka’s hospitality sector to date. eMarketingEye discovered
and evaluated 742 hotel and hospitality brands across Sri Lanka and
analysed AI visibility performance across 18 hospitality segments; these
included Beach, Luxury, Wellness, Ayurveda, Family Travel, Honeymoon and
Couples, Wildlife, Colombo, Kandy, Ella, Nuwara Eliya, Negombo, the East
Coast, Jaffna and more.
Among the standout performers, Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle Resort
emerged as a top contender in the AI Visibility Study, while also securing
leading positions in the Beach and Honeymoon segments, demonstrating
exceptional visibility across leading AI platforms.
Winners in the 18 segments were from hotel brands of leading chains such as
Anantara Hotels and Resorts, Heritance Hotels and Resorts, Cinnamon Hotels
and Resorts, Jetwing Hotels, Santani, Resplendent Ceylon, Shangri-La Hotels
and Resorts and Amaya Resorts and Spas. The only independent brand that
stood out was 98 Acres Resort & Spa for the Ella segment.
Source: Al Visibility Report for Sri Lanka Hotels, May 2026
The research highlights a major shift in the hospitality industry, where AI-
powered search and recommendation engines are increasingly influencing
how travellers discover and choose hotels online. As generative AI transforms
travel planning behaviour, visibility across AI platforms is becoming essential,
offering a critical competitive advantage for hospitality brands.
Key Findings from the Study
● 742 hospitality brands across Sri Lanka were discovered
● Visibility performance was analysed across 18 key hospitality
segments
● Hundreds of AI-generated travel prompts and recommendation
scenarios were assessed across leading AI platforms
● Hotels with stronger digital authority, structured content ecosystems,
and higher online trust signals were considerably more likely to appear
in AI-generated recommendations
● AI-driven travel discovery is increasingly prioritising trusted sources,
reviews, and brand authority
● Hotels with optimised digital ecosystems demonstrated stronger
visibility across conversational search queries related to luxury travel,
wellness tourism, honeymoon experiences, and destination-based
recommendations
The study further highlights the growing importance of Generative Engine
Optimisation (GEO), the next evolution of digital visibility focused on
improving how brands appear in AI-generated answers and conversational
search experiences.
“AI is fundamentally changing how travellers discover hotels,” said Rajitha
Dahanayake, CEO of eMarketingEye. “Hotels now need to optimise for AI
Platforms to stay ahead of the competition. Recognising this shift, we wanted
to take a timely first step in guiding the industry toward understanding and
improving AI visibility. This study provides valuable insight into how Sri Lankan
hotels can remain competitive in this new era of travel discovery.”
With AI continuing to reshape online search behaviour and consumer
decision-making, the study emphasises the urgent need for hotels to adapt
their digital strategies to remain discoverable in increasingly AI-first customer
journeys.
The detailed AI Visibility Study for Sri Lanka Hotels can be downloaded from
the eMarketingEye website:
