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SLTPB eyes A-list artistes to boost tourism here

Published

2 years ago

2024/08/1

Chalaka Gajabahu

Sri Lankan tourism officials want to facilitate A-List artistes to the country next year, Chairman – Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), Chalaka Gajabahu said.

He said that there are fans of these artistes that follow them around the world. Swiftonomics refers to the significant economic impact of musician Taylor Swift. In 2023, Swift launched her Eras Tour, a global concert series that has set records as the highest-grossing tour, amassing over $1 billion to date.

The Eras Tour has notably bolstered local economies across the United States. Swift’s fans travel to concert cities, where they spend money on accommodations, dining, transportation, and merchandise. Beyond the U.S., the pop icon and her international tour have also made a substantial impact on the global economy.

“Now this is a complicated and expensive process. We need to work with the private sector. I feel that we need to at least try one event with an A-List artiste,” he said.

Gajabahu also said the country needs to link its main cultural events to tourism. He expects that around 100,000 Indian tourists will arrive for the Nallur festival in August. Indians have easy access to Jaffna with marine and air connectivity, he said.

SLTPB said that by 23 July, over 1.15 million foreign tourists had arrived in Sri Lanka. The country can record the highest number of tourist arrivals in a year if current trends continue, he said. Sri Lanka recorded the previous highest number of tourists in 2018 with over 2.3 million tourist arrivals that year, and the country earned 4.4 billion U.S. dollars from the industry, he said. Sri Lanka has earned about 1.56 billion dollars from tourism from January to the end of June 2024.

“We were on a high in 2018, but then the Easter Sunday attacks took place followed by COVID and the economic crisis. In 2022 only about 719,000 tourists arrived in Sri Lanka. But things have improved rapidly, and this year’s target is to attract 2.3 million tourists and we are on track. We also want to generate about four billion dollars from tourism in 2024,” he said.

Gajabahu said India is Sri Lanka’s top tourist source market and Russia is number two. Most Russian tourists arrive between December and March, he said.

“Australia, and Poland are in the top 10 tourism source markets too and this is mainly due to bloggers and influencers who have come here. China, which opened only last year, is already in the top five source markets. In the last two years, over 190 bloggers and influencers were invited, and these have had a great positive impact,” he said.

On average a tourist spends 180 dollars a day in Sri Lanka, but a tourist spends about 500 dollars a day in the Maldives. “We get the same amount of tourists as Maldives, but they attract a lot more high-end tourists. By 2029, we hope to target 5 million tourists. 2.5 million out of them will be middle and low income, while the rest will be high-end tourists,” he said,

Gajabahu said Sri Lanka only has 9,000 rooms for high end tourists, although the country has about 45,000 rooms registered with tourism officials. There are another 40,000 unregistered rooms in Sri Lanka used for tourism, he said

“So, we need to attract 5 million tourists and to make people spend at least 500 dollars a day. We don’t want to attract 15 million tourists like Thailand. 7-8 million tourists a year will probably be our upper limit,” he said.

SLTPB is launching an initiative to launch a tourism campaign in India, China, UK, France and Germany in September. In the next stage Japan, South Korea, West Asia, Australia, Scandinavia and the USA will be targeted for tourism promotions, he said. (RK)

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Advisory for Heavy Rain issued for the Central, Uva and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in the Ampara, Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa districts

Published

13 hours ago

2026/02/21

Priyan

Advisory for Heavy Rain Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre at 12.00 noon on 21 February 2026 valid for the period until 08.30 a.m. 22 February 2026

Due to the low level atmospheric disturbance in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, Heavy showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the Central, Uva and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in the Ampara, Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa districts and fairly heavy showers above 75 mm are likely at some places elsewhere.

Therefore, the general public is advised to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by heavy rain, strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

News

Ravi demands full disclosure on Lanka’s usable reserves, flags forex leakages

Published

22 hours ago

2026/02/21

Thilina Walpola

Ravi

Opposition MP Ravi Karunanayake on Wednesday called for an urgent government statement to Parliament on the integrity and usability of Sri Lanka’s Gross Official Reserves (GOR), raising concerns over foreign exchange leakages and regulatory consistency under the Foreign Exchange Act No. 12 of 2017.

Raising the issue under Standing Order 27 (i), Karunanayake urged the Government to provide a comprehensive disclosure on the composition, encumbrances and deployability of the country’s reserves, as well as on the Central Bank’s oversight of foreign currency transactions.

“Reserve credibility depends not merely on headline numbers, but on transparency, enforceability and consistency in regulation,” the MP told the House.

He sought clarification on the latest reported GOR figure and the net usable reserves after excluding encumbered assets, swaps and pledged balances. He also requested details of annual revenue earned on reserves from 2023 to 2025.

Following are the questions raised by MP Karunanayake:

1. What is the latest reported GOR figure, and what is the net usable reserve after excluding encumbered assets, swaps, and pledged balances? What is the revenue earned on are GOR 23-25 per year?

2. Provide a separate and detailed breakdown of GOR, including: (a) Monetary gold (quantity and valuation basis) is it real gold or gold paper? (b) Foreign currency assets by major currency and instrument; (c) SDR holdings; (d) IMF reserve position; (e) Foreign currency swaps, specifying counterparty type, principal amount, tenure, maturity profile, and all-in cost; (f) Domestic swaps, specifying amount, tenure, rollover terms, collateralisation, and effective cost.

3. Of the total reserves reported, how much is encumbered, swap-backed, or otherwise not immediately deployable for debt servicing or currency stabilisation?

4. What SLR spread, fee, or margin does the Central bank apply when buying or selling USD to the Government for reserve accumulation and external debt servicing and what total profit or gain has the C.bank realised from such transactions during the past three financial years? Advice per year.

5. Is the Central Bank subject to continuous and statutory audit by the Auditor General? If so, will the Government table the most recent audit report, specifying audit scope, sample size, reserve confirmations, swap verification and gold custody validation?

6. What triggered the recent circular warning domestic institutions on foreign currency transactions?

7. Has the C.bank quantified foreign exchange and tax revenue losses resulting from Sri Lanka-based businesses routing credit card and commercial payments through overseas payment gateways?

8. If domestic entities are regulated strictly, why has a binding circular not been issued against noncompliant business entities using foreign payment gateway arrangements that divert foreign exchange outside Sri Lanka’s regulated banking system?

The government asked for two weeks’ time to respond to the queries.

by Saman Indrajith

News

Sajith exposes highly questionable coal imports from South Africa in 25 vessels; calls for independent probe

Published

22 hours ago

2026/02/21

Thilina Walpola

Sajith

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday alleged in Parliament that eight recently imported coal shipments were substandard and called for an independent probe into the matter.Speaking in the House, Premadasa said Sri Lanka typically requires 36–38 coal shipments annually. While 11 Russian shipments received so far had raised no concerns, he claimed that 25 vessels ordered from South Africa under a new tender were facing quality issues.

He cited combustion reports from the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant showing that the eight shipments already received under the new tender failed to generate the expected 300 megawatts per unit. According to the MP, the outputs were: 285 MW, 290 MW, 260 MW, 295 MW, 285 MW, 270 MW, 275 MW, and 255 MW.

“These are scientific data generated automatically through boiler combustion reports that cannot be altered,” Premadasa said, asserting that the figures indicate the coal supplied was below required standards.

He warned that low-quality coal could increase fuel consumption, raise operational costs, and damage equipment. Any shortfall in power generation, he said, would necessitate additional coal imports or greater reliance on diesel power, ultimately driving up electricity tariffs for consumers.

“The loss will have to be borne by the electricity consumer,” Premadasa said, urging the government to clarify whether the shipments met required specifications.

He also criticized delays and changes in tender requirements, alleging that supplier eligibility criteria had been relaxed to allow non-standard providers.

by Saman Indrajith