Iraj’s appointment to Sri Lanka Tourism still pending

Thursday, 20 February 2020 01:30 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Cabinet seeks approval from four agencies

By Charumini de Silva

The appointment of popular artiste Iraj Weeraratne as Digital Marketing Consultant to Sri Lanka Tourism is still pending, with Cabinet awaiting approval from respective agencies.

Iraj Weeraratne

Tourism Development Minister Prasanna Ranatunga last month sought Cabinet approval to appoint Weeraratne as a Digital Marketing Consultant to the four tourism institutions, namely the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) and Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM). Iraj’s...

The appointment comes without any payment for a period of one year with immediate effect.

The Cabinet paper also sought to extend the period of service to five years based on the first year’s performance.

Upon Weeraratne’s appointment, the Cabinet paper sought approval to organise and execute the digital media promotion events of Sri Lanka Tourism through appropriate and selected agencies under Weeraratne’s guidance and to make payments to such institutions after obtaining the approval of the concerned Board of Directors.

The Minister observed that Weeraratne’s capabilities and over 15 years’ experience in digital marketing could be utilised for the effective promotion of Sri Lanka Tourism to counteract emerging competition.

At present, the tourism industry is the economy’s third largest foreign exchange earner.

The Government is working towards the goal of achieving five million tourists and $ 10 billion in foreign exchange earnings by 2025.