News
Over 19,000 tourists arrived in Sri Lanka in first two weeks of November
Sri Lanka Tourism recorded 19,222 tourist arrivals between Nov. 01 and 14, and since the country opened its borders for Tourism, a total of 80,310 tourists had arrived in the country, Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga said recently.
He made these remarks at the inaugural event of Sri Lanka Tourism Expo 2021 organized by the Colombo University at One Galle Face mall. It was the first Tourism exhibition held in the country after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Leading hotels and travel firms in the country displayed their products and services in about 50 exhibition stalls at Sri Lanka Tourism Expo 2021.
Minister Ranatunga said,” Sri Lanka Tourism cannot recover only by providing extended moratoria for tourism industry stakeholders in respect of loans and leases. More importantly, we have to ensure that Sri Lanka is safe for visitors with very low infection rates, higher rates of vaccine doses administered per 100 people and greater compliance with globally accepted health guidelines and protocols across the industry.”
“With the collapse of the industry, many stakeholders have left it and found work elsewhere. So we need to take measures to attract more tourists and rebound the industry to pre-pandemic levels in order to bring them back to the industry. In this context, exhibitions of this nature are very useful,” he said.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, tourists that visited Sri Lanka in the said period were from India, Pakistan, the Maldives, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, the United States of America, Canada and Russia among other countries.
In terms of the provisions of the Establishments Code on payment of festival advance to government officers, there’s a possibility of obtaining rupees 10,000/- as an advance for celebrating festivals of Theipongal, Ramazan, Sinhala and Hindu New Year, Wesak, Deepavali, and Christmas as well as for pilgrimages (Sri Paada pilgrimage and Hajj pilgrimage).
Provisions have been given to recover the said advance in 08 installments or if required earlier without interest. It has been proposed by the Budget 2026 to increase the said festival advance up to rupees 15,000/-.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the proposal submitted by the Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local governments to revise the relevant provisions so that the festival advance can be increased up to rupees 15,000/- .
As per the approval given by the cabinet meeting held on 02-06-2025, action is being taken at present to offer the underutilized lands/properties of the Sri Lanka State Plantation Corporation, the Janatha Etate Development Board, and the Elkaduwa Plantation Company which are under the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure which have been identified under stage one to suitable investors.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Plantations and Community Infrastructure to provide following lands/properties on a lease basis to the suitable investors for optimal utilization following the prescribed procurement procedure.
• underutilized lands/properties identified under stage two owned by the Sri Lanka State Plantation Corporation, the Janatha Estate Development Board, and the Elkaduwa Plantation
Company,
• The Mawarala watte land and the Tea factory 40.48 hectares in extent, located in Matara District belonging to the Tea Shakthi Fund.
• The underutilized land of 1,541 hectares in extent of Kondachchi Estate is enjoyed by the Sri Lanka Cashew Corporation.
The drafting of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy has commenced with the objective of equitable distribution of the benefits of the fisheries industry and the sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture. This policy has been updated from time to time according to current requirements. However, steps have not been taken to obtain the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers for that purpose.
According to the policy declaration of the present government, ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendor’ the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy has been redrafted, updating the aforementioned policy in line with the economic and development objectives of the government.
The recommendations of the Department of National Planning have been received for the drafted policy.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Marine
Resources to implement the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy, integrating it with other relevant policies.
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Festival advance for government officers to be increased
Providing underutilized lands/properties to suitable investors for optimal utilization.
Implementation of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy
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