Govt. to finalise National Tourism Policy by year-end

• Special emphasis on incorporating sustainable tourism development 

By Charumini de Silva

Tourism Ministry Secretary S. Hettiarachchi

Sri Lanka is pressing ahead with plans to complete the first draft of the National Tourism Policy blueprint, as part of its ongoing efforts to develop a more resilient sector.

“Before the end of this year, we hope to complete the first draft of the National Tourism Policy, with the support and inputs of all stakeholders,” Tourism Ministry Secretary S. Hettiarachchi said during a webinar recently.

The national roadmap is being developed collaboratively by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) and other UN agencies, including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and World Tourism Organization (WTO), development partners such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Union (EU), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Australia and other key stakeholders.

The Secretary said key points of agreement and disagreement to facilitate the process of conciliation and validation of the major orientations of the future public tourism policy had been identified after several engagement discourse towards formulating a national blueprint.

“We want to get the inputs of all stakeholders to be incorporated into the new policy. We want the support of all provincial councils, industry personnel and operators,” he added.

The policy will comprise a set of rules, regulations, guidelines, directives, objectives and development/promotion strategies, which provide a framework for collective and individual decisions directly affecting long-term tourism development and daily activities within a destination.

Hettiarachchi also pointed out that a special emphasis has been given to incorporate sustainable tourism development in the impending policy framework.

Already three areas – accommodation, destination and operators – have been identified to be incorporated in the new policy under sustainable tourism development with the support from UNDP and Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).

Industry sources said the National Tourism Policy is intended to catalyse the development of a framework to support the development of a new strategic plan and vision for tourism 2021-2024. The focus is on ‘Putting People First: Building a More Resilient Tourism Sector in Sri Lanka’.

Tourism is a vital economic sector for Sri Lanka, accounting for 5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), directly employing 250,000 and indirectly up to two million persons. It is one of the worst impacted socio-economic sectors from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The UNDP has been working with the Tourism Ministry and SLTDA – the Government authority tasked with planning, development, regulation, and policy implementation of tourism in the country – over the past few months to revive and build a more resilient tourism sector in Sri Lanka.