SLTB to be elevated to Tourism Development Authority

by Shirajiv Sirimane

THE Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) will be elevated to a Tourism Development Authority while a separate public and private sector bureau would be set up.

Minister of Industries, Investment Promotion and Tourism Anura Bandaranaike, speaking at the Sri Lanka-America Society Business Forum at the Galle Face Hotel last Friday said that the SLTB in future would exercise enforcement of regulations, tourism development, research and international affairs.

The new private sector bureau which would be set up soon, will undertake tourism, marketing and promotion in a professional manner. This function is now being handled by the SLTB.

He said that a new tourism law would be brought to Parliament very soon to strengthen the administrative mechanism of the tourism industry and inject dynamism.

The Minister said that there was a setback to the tourism industry after the tsunami with the arrivals dropping by around 20 per cent in January and February this year. Negative international publicity too played a key role for this. To overcome this problem, a Tourism Task Force was appointed and on their recommendations 'Bounce Back' program was introduced and it was a success.

He said that this year they would concentrate in wooing more tourists from the European, Scandinavia and India.

He said that investors who signed contracts to construct hotels within the 100-meter zone would be allowed to continue while there would be no new ventures allowed. Likewise, the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) appointed a Task Force Committee to ascertain the various relief assistance to be given to Sri Lanka and other affected countries in which my Ministry Secretary P. Ramanujam is a member.

To restore accommodation facilities back to normal, the government of Sri Lanka has agreed to introduce a duty free importation package for importation of material and equipment for refurbishment and reconstruction of the damaged hotel properties.

To ease the financial difficulties faced by the industry, a special loan scheme has been introduced wherein an affected hotelier or a tourism businessman can obtain a loan of Rs. 10 million for a 6 per cent interest with a one year grace period. He said that the sea is not a monster and people should continue to go to the beach on Sundays.

He also said that while enforcing the 100 metre law, fishermen would be given temporary shelter to keep fishing equipment near the sea.