News

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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News

Navy renders assistance to bring injured fisherman ashore

Published

6 hours ago

2026/05/29

Priyan

The Sri Lanka Navy demonstrated its commitment to maritime safety by assisting to bring ashore an injured fisherman and rushing him for urgent medical attention on Thursday (28 May 2026)

The fisherman was aboard a local multiday fishing trawler off the south coast and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Colombo coordinated the retrieval of the fisherman.

Reportedly, the multi-day fishing trawler had departed from the Kudawella Fisheries Harbour on 05th May with 06 fishermen. While engaged in fishing activities approximately 730 nautical miles off the south coast, one of the crew members suffered an injury.

Following a formal request for assistance, through MRCC Colombo, the Merchant Vessel ‘Dong Fang Wei Ye’ sailing in the nearby sea area had been informed to retrieve the patient. In a rapid response, the Navy dispatched a craft attached to the Southern Naval Command to the designated sea area where the Merchant Vessel was stationed to transfer the fisherman.

Upon transferring the injured fisherman from the Merchant Vessel, naval personnel provided essential first aid to the injured person before swiftly bringing him to the Galle Harbour And safely transferred him to the National Hospital, Galle.

News

Applications called to recruit 400 public officers as Digital Champions for the Public Impact Champions Network

Published

7 hours ago

2026/05/29

Priyan

As a key component of the Government’s Digital Economy Plan aimed at enhancing the quality and efficiency of the public sector system, an awareness programme for coordinating executive officers of public institutions was held on Wednesday (27) at the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA). The programme marked the first step towards establishing the “Public Impact Champions Network” (PIC-NET), an institutional pilot network intended to drive the optimisation of public services through the digitalisation of public institutions.

During the programme, heads of institutions were informed to submit applications from officers currently serving in public institutions who possess the capability and capacity to represent the “Champions Corps” in spearheading digital transformation, in accordance with Circular PS/ADA/Circular/3/2026.

Chairman of the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka and Senior Adviser to the President on the Digital Economy, Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, stated that the Government aims to increase Sri Lanka’s digitally empowered economy from its current level of 3% to 12% by 2030.

He further explained that the development of the digital economy is a process aimed at improving efficiency, quality and revenue generation through the use of communication technology in economic activities.

Pointing out how the digital economy has expanded in every developed state, Dr Hans Wijayasuriya noted that the slow growth of the digital economy remains a serious challenge faced by Third World countries. However, he stated that India is currently achieving remarkable progress in digital economic development and that elevating Sri Lanka’s digital economy to a prominent level alongside such developments is one of the Government’s principal objectives.

Dr Hans Wijayasuriya also pointed out that this digital economic growth must take place simultaneously across nearly all public institutions. Accordingly, within the next three years, the coordination and management of transactions among public institutions are expected to function in a fully networked manner similar to banking operations.

He further emphasised that the support of both public institutions and the country’s citizens as a whole would be crucial for the successful implementation of this extensive technological transformation across all public institutions over the next few years.

Ranil Peiris of the Department of Information Technology at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura briefed those present on the foundation of the PIC-NET programme and its future plans.

He explained that, in the future, citizens would be able to access services such as applying for passports and renewing licences entirely online from their homes. He further pointed out that this system would eliminate the need for citizens to repeatedly provide the same information.

Representatives of KPMG also presented the future action plan relating to the selection and training of officers.

Representing the Presidential Secretariat, Sameera Wickremasinghe further briefed participants on the mechanism for calling applications.

The necessary guidance and coordination support for this public sector digitalisation programme are being provided with the support of the Presidential Secretariat, the Ministry of Digital Economy, GovTech Sri Lanka and the Asian Development Bank.

(PMD)

Foreign News

Mother-in-law of Indian bride whose death set off media frenzy arrested

Published

8 hours ago

2026/05/29

Priyan

Twisha Sharma was found dead in her marital home on 12 May [BBC]

India’s top anti-crime agency has arrested the mother-in-law of an Indian woman whose death has sparked conflicting claims of murder and suicide.

Twisha Sharma’s parents and siblings have alleged that she was tortured by her lawyer husband, Samarth Singh, and his mother – retired judge Giribala Singh – over dowry demands and that she was murdered, allegations they have denied.

The 33-year-old model and actor had been married for just five months when she was found dead in her matrimonial home in Madhya Pradesh state’s Bhopal city on 12 May.

On Thursday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Giribala Singh after questioning her for several hours.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court had earlier cancelled her anticipatory bail, finding that a trial court had ignored key evidence and witness testimony.

Following Twisha’s death, the police had registered a case of dowry death against the Singhs. Earlier this week, the investigation was taken over by the CBI.

Twisha’s death has made national headlines and has once against brought the issue of dowry deaths into the spotlight. Every year, thousands of women are murdered for bringing in insufficient dowries, even though the practice was banned in 1961.

The case has drawn significant attention because of the family’s prominence. Twisha was a former beauty pageant winner and actor, while her husband and mother-in-law were lawyers.

Twisha’s parents allege that dowry-related harassment began soon after her marriage to Singh. They also claim that when she became pregnant, Singh and his mother accused her of infidelity and forced her to terminate the pregnancy.

The Singhs deny the allegations, saying Twisha had mental health issues and took her own life. They also contend that the decision to terminate the pregnancy was hers.

Singh is currently in police custody. He had reportedly absconded after Twisha’s death and was arrested by police in Jabalpur on 22 May.

Twisha was cremated on Sunday after a second autopsy. Her family had alleged that the first post-mortem was flawed and accused the police of a cover-up, a charge the police denied.

[BBC]