Tourism industry slams delays, warns 3 m visitor target unlikely without action

• Claims despite global hype, officials fail to act decisively on key strategic initiatives
• Sri Lanka needs to woo over 1.68 m more tourists in remaining of 2025
• Asserts no interim campaign or expert committee seen as promised by Deputy Minister
• Stakeholders blame lack of follow-through and accountability 
• Urges urgent international marketing as incremental growth seen insufficient by tourism leaders
• Criticises overcrowding of institutions and lack of coordination 

By Charumini de Silva

THE private sector yesterday slammed the Government authorities for the delay in implementing promotions and strategic initiatives critical to achieving the targeted 3 million tourist arrivals this year.

Frustrated industry stakeholders claimed that despite Sri Lanka being in the global spotlight as a trending destination, poor execution and lack of urgency from authorities are stifling momentum and costing the nation valuable opportunities.

“There is a global hype about Sri Lanka, but where are the actions to capitalise on it? The numbers aren’t adding up and time is running out,” a senior industry source told the Daily FT.

As per the latest data available, Sri Lanka needs to draw over 1.68 million additional visitors before the end of the year. Yet, tourism operators agree that without a sustained international marketing push meeting the target is highly unlikely.

In June, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) announced that the long-awaited ‘Nation Branding’ campaign originally scheduled for January 2025 (https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Sri-Lanka-Tourism-to-launch-unified-national-brand-from-January/44-769417) was delayed to post-Sinhala and Tamil Avurudu (https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Sri-Lanka-to-unveil-unified-national-tourism-brand-with-global-campaign-post-Avurudu/44-775394) and was finally billed for grand unveiling on 26 June (https://www.ft.lk/top-story/Sri-Lanka-Tourism-to-unveil-long-awaited-Nation-Branding-Campaign-on-26-June/26-777452). However, on 20 June, officials announced it as yet another ‘missed deadline’ due to regulatory bottlenecks.

However, during a media briefing on 20 June Tourism Deputy Minister Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe pledged to appoint a new expert committee and roll out an interim campaign within a month, but as July draws to a close, there is still no sign of that committee or any campaign (https://www.ft.lk/top-story/Nation-Branding-boost-for-tourism-unlikely-amid-procedural-delays/26-778005).

Despite many attempts to speak to the Deputy Minister, he was not available for comment.

“We have no idea what’s happening. There is a lot of talk, but no delivery,” frustrated industry stakeholders said.

Industry stakeholders have constantly urged the authorities and the Government to expedite the campaign, stressing that without a robust promotional push, only through an organic footfall—the ambitious target of attracting 3 million tourists and generating $ 5 billion in revenue for 2025 is unrealistic.

Industry veterans point out that simply announcing initiatives without proper planning or follow-through has become a hallmark of the current administration’s approach to tourism.

“The Government is quick to chase after frauds of the past, but why isn’t anyone held accountable for failing to unlock the economic potential of this sector?” they argued.

Even seemingly simple policy measures, such as the free visa initiative which Sri Lanka has actually implemented in the past and announced by the previous regime are still pending implementation, having only been tabled before the Cabinet last week (https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Cabinet-nod-to-rollout-free-visa-policy-for-40-more-countries-Vijitha/44-779517). 

“There is a huge difference between saying something and doing it. We need actual promotions on the ground,” they said.

Originally approved by the previous administration in August 2024, and intended for implementation from 1 October 2024, the initiative remained stalled due to bureaucratic delays and political transitions led to further postponements (https://www.ft.lk/top-story/Presidential-boost-for-tourism-with-free-visa-to-35-nationals/26-765842).

Although officials are pleased with year-on-year growth, tourism leaders said the numbers fall drastically short of what Sri Lanka is truly capable of achieving. “Sri Lanka is driven by organic growth. If we do not roll out any promotional efforts, this organic growth will only go into the informal sector. If 60% of the total arrivals chose to go to the 40,000 informal sector establishments, it will not reflect as a development in the industry or the economy, as there will be no tax income generated to the State,” they added.

“Sri Lanka’s potential is enormous and competing destinations are way ahead running aggressive campaigns, while Sri Lanka Tourism is still dragging its feet. Settling for incremental growth is simply not good enough. If the Government doesn’t wake up now, we are going to miss out big time,” they claimed.

They also criticised the overcrowding of institutions and lack of coordination, noting that the Government’s fragmented approach hampers real progress.

“Having too many organisations to regulate the tourism industry on top of the existing four institutions was uncalled for. 

Existing institutions include; Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, SLTPB, Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) and Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM). On top of that the Government is eying on establishing a National Tourism Council (https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Govt-to-overhaul-tourism-governance-with-new-apex-Commission/44-772590), while in June the Government announced the formation of a new unit under the Presidential Secretariat (https://www.presidentsoffice.gov.lk/measures-will-be-taken-to-establish-a-unit-under-the-presidential-secretariat-to-integrate-all-sectors-associated-with-the-tourism-industry/). 

“Even after having all these in place; the authorities have not been able to implement key initiatives necessary to boost income and visitor footfall in a consistent manner,” they claimed.