AKD gazettes Presidential Task Force to roll out five-year National Tourism Development Program

• Task Force functions as central coordinating and decision-making body for tourism, cutting across Ministerial boundaries
• Task Force to oversee formulation and execution of all tourism-related policies and projects, ensuring agencies align with national objectives
• President demands regular progress reports directly from Task Force, ensuring direct oversight and accountability
• Aims to fast-track tourism initiatives, eliminate bureaucratic delays and strengthen competitiveness

By Charumini de Silva

President Anura Kumara Disanayake has appointed a high-level Presidential Task Force to spearhead the implementation of the five-year Sri Lanka Tourism Development Program. 

The move is formalised through Extraordinary Gazette No. 2450/27 issued on 20 August, by virtue of the powers vested in the President by Article 33 of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

According to the Gazette, the Task Force is mandated to function as the central coordinating and decision-making body in respect of tourism development, cutting across Ministerial jurisdictions to ensure efficiency, accountability, and timely delivery. 

The President has vested the group with wide-ranging authority and outlined seven specific directives governing its responsibilities.

The Task Force will be chaired by the Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath while Tourism Deputy Minister Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe serves as the Vice Chairman and Foreign Affairs, with the Foreign Employment and Tourism Ministry Secretary serving as the Secretary of the Task Force. 

Its membership extends to 25 including both public and private sector representatives—Secretary to the President; Treasury Secretary; Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government Ministry Secretary; Environment Ministry Secretary; Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation Ministry Secretary; Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation Ministry Secretary; Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Ministry Tourism Division Additional Secretary (Development); Urban Development Authority Chairman; Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman; Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management, Sri Lanka Convention Bureau Chairman; Central Cultural Fund Director-General; Department of Coastal Conservation Director-General; Department of Irrigation Director-General; Department of Wildlife Director-General; Department of Forest Conservation Director-General; Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority Director-General; Department of Immigration and Emigration Controller General; Mahaweli Development Authority Director-General; Inspector General of Police; Duminda Hulangamuwa; Krishan Balendra; Nihal Muhandiram; Nalin Jayasundara; Suranjith Wevita; and Shiromal Cooray. 

The Gazette also makes it clear that the Task Force will hold primary responsibility for overseeing the formulation and implementation of tourism-related policies and projects. It is tasked with ensuring that all agencies, institutions, and local authorities engaged in tourism align their work with the objectives of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Program.

By providing this central point of command, the Government intends to eliminate bureaucratic delays, duplication of effort, and fragmented policy approaches that have often hindered progress in the past.

All Secretaries of Ministries, Heads of Departments, State Corporations, Statutory Boards, and other Government officials are expressly directed by the President to extend full cooperation to the Task Force. They are required to furnish any reports, information, or assistance necessary for the fulfilment of its duties. This provision underlines the authority of the Task Force to cut across administrative silos and demand accountability from every arm of the State apparatus.

The Gazette further directs Governors, Provincial Councils, District Secretaries, Divisional Secretaries, Grama Niladharis, Chairmen of local authorities, and officers of the Provincial Public Service to provide their fullest support to the Task Force. 

Unusually for a tourism-related initiative, the Gazette also places the Police at the disposal of the Task Force, with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) instructed to provide officers and resources as and when requested. 

The President requires the Task Force to keep him regularly informed of progress, challenges, and achievements. Reports must be submitted directly to the Head of State, ensuring direct oversight and avoiding bureaucratic bottlenecks. 

The Gazette specifies that all directives given by the President in relation to the work of the Task Force must be strictly implemented. This provision underscores that the Task Force operates under the direct authority of the President and is expected to treat presidential instructions as binding orders rather than advisory guidance. It added that by consolidating oversight under a centralised body and demanding cooperation from every level of Government, the administration is seeking to fast-track the implementation of long-delayed initiatives. 

Tourism, which contributes significantly to foreign exchange earnings and employment, has faced repeated setbacks in recent years due to political instability, the economic crisis, and global shocks. The Gazette’s directives indicate that the Government now sees a coordinated, top-down approach as essential to restoring competitiveness and achieving ambitious growth targets.