Thursday Sep 04, 2025
Thursday Sep 04, 2025
Thursday, 4 September 2025 05:52 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
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Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath
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The Government on Tuesday convened the inaugural meeting of the newly established Presidential Tourism Task Force at the Presidential Secretariat, signalling a renewed push to boost the sector as a key driver of economic growth.
Chaired by Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath, the session focused on aligning Government institutions under a unified framework to take swift decisions on tourism promotion.
The discussions also addressed pressing challenges faced by tourists and entrepreneurs in the industry.
Minister Herath asserted that the Task Force has been created with a dual mandate: to revitalise the tourism industry and to generate higher direct income for the national economy.
He stressed that future success will depend on coordinated planning between State agencies and private sector stakeholders.
Highlighting the importance of the upcoming tourist season, the Minister said the Task Force will work to develop immediate and long-term strategies to enhance Sri Lanka’s competitiveness as a global destination, while ensuring that promotion efforts are streamlined and effective.
In line with the Government’s policy declaration “A new tourism industry – An attractive destination,” the Cabinet of Ministers on 4 August approved to establish the Task Force (https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Presidential-Task-Force-to-boost-tourism-development/44-779931).
President Anura Kumara Disanayake then 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 (https://www.ft.lk/front-page/AKD-gazettes-Presidential-Task-Force-to-roll-out-five-year-National-Tourism-Development-Program/44-780737).
