Business

Sri Lanka Tourism dominated by ‘vested interests’ of Colombo-based associations, say provincial service providers

Published

4 years ago

2022/04/25

by Sanath Nanayakkare

All Ceylon Tourism Service Providers Association (ACTSPA) told The Island Financial Review that three Colombo-based private sector tourism associations occupying seats on the Board of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority SLTDA, are not helping to make policies that harness the synergies of provincial level stakeholders to foster sustainable tourism at national level.

Suranjith Wevita, Secretary ACTSPA said that provincial-level travel agents, hoteliers in the informal sector, tourist guides, tourist vehicle owners, drivers, assistants, various expert experience-providers in adventure, safari, wellness/nature and heritage and other members of ACTSPA, seek ‘fair play’ against the ‘vested’ interests of the three private sector associations whom they say are not sensitive to the issues of core service providers in different tourist zones of the country.

“Tourism is a multi-service industry which requires the synergies of all stakeholders that make different offerings to foreign visitors in order to make their visits to Sri Lanka a memorable experience and get them to spread the word globally on social media platforms. To achieve this objective, there should be a lawful mechanism to ensure balance in decision making for all stakeholders and not just for a privileged few,” he said.

“Tourism is global sustainable industry on global norms on socio-economic sustainability and environmental sustainability. These sustainable criteria are monitored and governed by agencies such as Global Sustainable Tourism Council which is connected to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Environmental Organisation (UNEO). In this context, discerning foreign visitors are keen to see that there are equitable dividends for all service providers in any country that they visit. Sri Lanka Tourism which is obviously controlled by SLAITO, TAASL and THASL have little regard for these global concepts and new trends in tourism.” he said.

“SLAITO and TAASL represent less than 30 % of destination management companies (DMCs) and high-end hotel association THASL represents only 5% of all rooms in the industry, yet they have a bigger say in making decisions that affect all of us. Tourism Act No. 38 of 2005 made provisions for these associations to take the upper hand over a myriad of other stakeholders in the industry and this has created an imbalance of the entire industry’s synergistic effort,” he said.

He further said:

“Even daily wages of guides, drivers and other service providers are decided by them violating global sustainable criteria, in the sole interest of making more profits for their companies. The. revenue generated towards SLTDA through the Tourism Development Levy of 1% charged from hotels and from part of embarkation tax is used to promote their travel agents and hotels through two agencies under SLTDA; namely Sri Lanka Tourism Convention Bureau and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau. That’s another unfair practice.”

“They objected to increasing vehicle rates needed to operate within present higher costs and also objected to providing income support to a section of the service providers during the pandemic citing various reasons, as a result of which a large expert-workforce permanently left the industry. They even introduced unreasonable registration criteria to prevent small stakeholders from registering with the SLTDA.”

“UNDP, the European Union and the present administration of SLTDA having considered these anomalies had consultations with all ‘other stakeholders’ and came up with a new draft bill for Sri Lanka Tourism. It is designed to give representation to all service sectors by creating regional tourism chambers to address issues of all stakeholders and streamline different geographic requirements in different tourism zones. The bill has also clauses governing the decentralization of business registration process from the central control of the Colombo-based associations.”

“The bill also encourages fair trade policies to ensure earnings for all stakeholders in the service chain commensurate with their services, which has hitherto not been a practice in Sri Lanka tourism industry where some got the lion’s share while others were paid pea nuts.”

“The draft bill proposes a fund to support all registered stakeholders for training their staff. If this bill is passed in parliament and becomes an Act, it will give SLTDA more powers to withstand political and corporate pressure and be more independent and inclusive for everyone’s benefit.”

“Black money infusion is high in this industry as an international mechanism for money laundering which is true for Sri Lanka too, and such occurrences can be better monitored and tracked within a fair and transparent operational framework if this bill is passed into law.”

“Taking these facts into consideration, authorities should not allow a privileged few to wield their political and corporate power to undermine fair practices, sustainability and growth of this industry in the medium to long term. We should all keep in mind that tourists’ perception towards tourism businesses is much more discerning than it ever was in terms of fair trade practices, especially in tourism destinations in developing countries such as ours,” Suranjith Wewita said.

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Business

Focus on developing the Coconut and Food & Beverage export industries into a USD 3 billion economy within the next two years

Published

6 hours ago

2026/06/27

Priyan

A discussion was held on Friday (26) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and industrialists in the coconut and food and beverage manufacturing sectors on developing the coconut and food and beverage export industries into a USD 3 billion economy within the next two years.

Accordingly, the objective is to expand the coconut-based export industry into a USD 2 billion sector and the food and beverage export industry into a USD 1 billion sector, and extensive discussions were held on the plans required to achieve these targets.

The President stated that the Government is prepared to provide every possible form of incentive necessary to promote export diversification and encourage value-added products.

Proposals and suggestions aimed at developing these industries were also presented during the meeting, and the President further noted that future plans would be formulated after taking all such proposals and recommendations into consideration.

The President also expressed agreement to provide incentives for establishing industries in the Northern Province and assured that the Government would extend its fullest support for setting up coconut-based manufacturing industries in the region.

Attention was also focused on plans to streamline the importation of raw materials required for export production while safeguarding domestic producers. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake further stated that his Government’s objective is to build the country’s economy into an export-oriented production economy by strengthening domestic supply chains.

Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Anil Jayantha Fernando; Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Dr Harshana Suriyapperuma; Secretary to the Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, Thilaka Jayasundara; and Chairman of the Export Development Board, Mangala Wijesinghe, were among those present.

The President of the Sri Lanka Food Processors Association, Aruna Senanayake; Vice President Rasika Seneviratne; Managing Director of CBL Group, Shyamali Wickramasinghe; Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan Catering Ltd, Mangala Wijesekera; Managing Director of Ma’s Tropical Food Processing (Pvt) Ltd, Mario D. Alwis; Chairman of the Consumer Foods Sector of John Keells Food Holdings PLC, Daminda Gamlath; together with a number of leading business leaders from the food production sector were also present.

President’s Media Division (PMD)

Business

Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association unveils strategic roadmap for the future at 9th AGM

Published

15 hours ago

2026/06/27

Thilina Walpola

The newly elected Office Bearers and Executive Council of the Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association for 2026–2027.

The Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association (SLRA) successfully held its 9th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 23 June 2026 at Hilton Colombo Residencies, bringing together members of the country’s organized retail sector to review the Association’s achievements over the past year and outline its strategic priorities for the future.

The AGM formally adopted the Annual Report and Audited Accounts for the financial year 2025/26 and elected the Office Bearers and Executive Council for the year 2026–2027.

Infiyaz M. Ali, Director of Healthguard Pharmacy Ltd, was announced as President of the Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association for 2026–2027. He will be supported by Mahesh Wijewardena, Executive Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of Singer (Sri Lanka) PLC, as Senior Vice President, and Kumar De Silva, CEO of SPAR SL Private Ltd, as Vice President.

The newly appointed Executive Council comprises senior representatives from leading retail organizations across Sri Lanka, reflecting the Association’s continued commitment to representing the diverse interests of the retail sector.

Addressing the gathering, President Infiyaz M. Ali emphasized the importance of collaboration, innovation, and industry advocacy in driving the next phase of growth for Sri Lanka’s retail sector.

“Retail continues to be one of the most dynamic sectors of the Sri Lankan economy. As consumer expectations evolve and technology reshapes the industry, the role of SLRA is to create opportunities for knowledge sharing, collaboration, and collective action. We remain committed to supporting our members and contributing to the sustainable growth of the retail ecosystem,” he stated.

The AGM was honoured by the presence of Wasantha Samarasinghe, Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development, who attended as Chief Guest. In his address, the Minister highlighted the importance of the retail sector as a key contributor to economic development, employment generation, and consumer welfare, while emphasizing the need for stronger public-private collaboration to strengthen the industry’s competitiveness.

Members also had the opportunity to gain insights from the Guest Speaker, Chayu Damsinghe, Head of Macroeconomic Advisory at Frontier Research, who shared perspectives on Sri Lanka’s economic outlook, emerging business trends, and the opportunities and challenges facing the private sector in the years ahead.

A key highlight of the evening was the presentation on the upcoming Sri Lanka Retail Forum 2026, SLRA’s flagship industry event, which will be held under the theme “Retail Without Boundaries – Building the Next Growth Engine.” The forum is expected to bring together more than 500 industry leaders, retailers, entrepreneurs, policymakers, technology providers, and investors to discuss the trends shaping the future of retail.

The Association reaffirmed its commitment to supporting retailers through industry advocacy, professional development initiatives, policy engagement, and knowledge-sharing platforms that foster innovation and business growth.

Since its establishment in 2015, SLRA has played a pivotal role in bringing together retailers from diverse sectors including FMCG, fashion, healthcare, consumer electronics, and digital commerce, creating a unified voice for the industry.

With a renewed leadership team and an ambitious programme of activities planned for the year ahead, SLRA looks forward to working closely with its members and stakeholders to strengthen Sri Lanka’s retail sector and contribute to the country’s economic development.

Business

Month-end profit-takings drive stock trading; indices up

Published

15 hours ago

2026/06/27

Thilina Walpola

CSE trading was yesterday driven by month- end profit-takings, market analysts said.Amid those developments both indices moved upwards. The All Share Price Index went up by 2.77 points, while the S and P SL20 rose by 10.91 points.

Turnover stood at Rs 1.91 billion with two crossings. Those crossings were; ACL Cables 2.1 million shares crossed to the tune of 209 million; its shares traded at Rs 100 and Hayleys 100,000 shares crossed for Rs 24.1 million; its shares traded at Rs 240.

In the retail market companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were: Hayleys Rs 141 million (587,000 shares traded), Lanka Realty Rs 105 million (1.8 million shares traded), CIC (Non Voting) Rs 81 million (3.1 million shares traded), HNB Finance Rs 79 million (8.3 million shares traded), Dialog Axiata Rs 56.7 million (1.2 million shares traded), Colombo Dockyard Rs 48.6 million (371,000 shares traded) and Singer SriLanka Rs 46.6 million (586,000 shares crossed).

During the day 63.9 million share volumes changed hands in 18300 transactions.

It is said that manufacturing sector counters, especially Hayleys, performed well while construction related companies, especially ACL Cables, also performed well. Banking sector counters, especially HNB, were also notable on the floor.

Meanwhile, Lee Hedges concluded negotiations with Amana Bank to sell and transfer its land and premises in Kollupitiya for a total consideration of Rs 2.7 billion, with the transaction completed on June 25, 2026.

Lee Hedges shares were trading up 2.52 percent, at Rs.325.75, while Amana Bank was up 1.13 percent at Rs.26.80.

Yesterday the rupee was quoted at Rs 336.90/337.00 to the US dollar in the spot market, from Rs 337.25/35 the previous day, while bond yields were quoted slightly higher, dealers said.

The telegraphic transfer rate for Sri Lanka’s rupee against the US dollar was 332.3416 buying, 342.0372 selling; the euro was 376.2315 selling, 389.9580 buying; and the pound was 436.5994 buying, 451.8110 selling.

By Hiran H Senewiratne