- SLTDA targets 45 tourism zones islandwide as part of long-term strategy
- Sigiriya, Pinnawala among 5 destinations slated for gazetting
- Lengthy procedural requirements slow down zone declaration process
- New tourism zones to revive nightlife, boost visitor experiences
As part of its ongoing process to establish 45 tourism zones in the country, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) will be gazetting five more tourist destinations, including Sigiriya and Pinnalawa, as tourist zones by 2025.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, SLTDA Acting Director General Upali Ratnayake revealed that the SLTDA had currently gazetted 23 tourist destinations as tourism zones and that its plan was to establish a total of 45 tourism zones islandwide.
He further stated that there were plans in the pipeline to declare five more tourism zones, which included the popular Pinnawala and Sigiriya tourist areas.
However, he pointed out that this process would take time due to the lengthy and arduous process that must be complied with first before gazetting the destinations as tourism zones.
He added: “Gazetting of tourism zones is not an overnight exercise. There is a certain process to be followed.
“We have to do research to justify that our decision is correct. Thereafter, we have to get the Grama Niladhari areas from the respective divisional secretaries.
“Thereafter we have to publish a public notice to see if there are any objections. Only then will the divisional secretary provide consent for the gazetting of the zone.”
According to Ratnayake, the timeline for declaring these five prospective tourism zones will depend on the respective divisional secretaries. Nevertheless, he opined that these prospective tourism zones would be gazetted by 2025.
The establishment of new tourism zones in Sri Lanka was announced by former Minister of Tourism and Lands Harin Fernando in October 2022. Speaking to the media, the former Minister revealed that after Bentota in 1980, no tourism zones had been declared in Sri Lanka.
Moreover, Fernando lamented the fact that in tourist areas such as Arugam Bay, tourists had been left with nothing to do after 10 p.m. as everything was forced to close. Therefore, he proposed the establishment of new tourism zones and the introduction of policies allowing for greater capacity-building in such zones.
