Sri Lanka’s President calls on private sector to convert govt houses into tourist resorts
The Morning: Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake called on the private sector to invest in converting President and Ministerial bungalows in tourist hubs into tourism bungalows, a statement by the President’s Media Division said.
“Inviting entrepreneurs to invest in transforming President’s Houses and Ministers’ official bungalows located in areas such as Nuwara Eliya, Anuradhapura, Mahiyanganaya and Kataragama into comfortable holiday resorts targeting foreign tourists, the President announced that a formal programme in this regard would be launched in the near future,” the statement said.
The statement was made during a discussion on the 2026 pre-budget for the tourism sector on 29 August, in the presence of private sector stakeholders, at the Presidential Secretariat.
The statement said that the President opined that promotional campaigns alone cannot lead Sri Lanka towards meeting its tourism sector targets for 2026, emphasising a new ‘strategic programme’ jointly implemented by both the public and private sectors.
It further added that during the discussion, business leaders highlighted the existing shortcomings and challenges in the tourism industry. The President also requested entrepreneurs to present their proposals for the advancement of the sector.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, especially the leisure and hospitality sector, has presented many business/investment opportunities. The steady growth in the country’s tourism industry is expected to witness a further growth with the island being identified as a must visit tourist destination. Also, the local tourism authorities are also engaged in promoting the country in key foreign tourist source markets as well as identify and promote more tourism concepts to meet the evolving demands of the discerning traveler. All these factors have resulted in the fast expansion of Sri Lanka’s tourism industry and related sectors, which is evident by the Sri Lankan government’s plan to convert state-owned colonial-style bungalows into tourist attractions as well as boutique hotels. The interest shown by foreign leisure and hospitality brands to explore the expanding opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry and the expansion programmes undertaken by many businesses in the local leisure and hospitality sectors indicate the increasing business potential in Sri Lanka’s fast-growing tourism industry. Foreign businesses/investors could therefore confidently explore the increasing business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry and related sectors.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20250904/Z_2 |