Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and UDA partner to prepare tourism development master plan
The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) and the Urban Development Authority (UDA) of Sri Lanka have reportedly embarked on a mutual partnership to prepare tourism development master plans for identified areas across the country.
Areas will be identified as ‘tourism development zones’ and provided with specific guidelines for tourism development and tourist-related activities, a report in the Daily FT has stated.
The report notes that the objective of this initiative is to set specific guidelines for tourism development and for tourism-related activities to avoid ad-hoc tourism development and to avoid undesirable activities. Moreover, to encourage thematic developments catering to specific tourist segments and develop a proper monitoring mechanism to ensure sustainability.
The zoning plans are to be prepared for the following tourism zones in two phases in a span of 18 months.
Phase I will include Ella, Arugam Bay, Kalpitiya and Nuwara Eliya and Phase II will expand to Beruwala, Hikkaduwa and Pinnawala.
The partnership was formalised at a ceremony last week attended by Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs Secretary S. Hettiarachchi, SLTDA Chairman Kishu Gomes and Director General Upali Rathnayake, UDA Chairman Dr. Jagath Munasinghe and Director Western Province, Research and Development Janak Ranaweera.
Sri Lanka has been identified as one of the fast-emerging tourist destinations in the South Asian region. The island’s biodiversity, long lasted culture, historic monuments, exotic beaches, and evergreen environment can be identified as the key attractions of international tourists.
OSL take:
The preparation of a tourism development master plan under several phases by the SLTDA and UDA would open up business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry. Therefore, given the growth momentum recorded by Sri Lanka tourism, foreign businesses/investors could explore the project pipeline in the country’s tourism industry once the tourism development master plan is compiled.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/22022019/Z_3 |