Tourism development funds will be allocated directly to districts through the Ministry of Finance from 2027, replacing the current system of routing them through the relevant ministry, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath said at a meeting in Ampara.
Herath chaired a special discussion at the Ampara District Secretariat on resolving problems in the district’s tourism sector and increasing the number of skilled workers available for foreign employment. He said the new funding mechanism would help support the government’s target of attracting five million tourists a year.
Rs. 173 million for Arugam Bay
A sum of Rs. 173 million has been allocated to develop the “Arugam Bay Sunset View” location as part of efforts to improve tourism infrastructure in the district. Arugam Bay, on the east coast, is Sri Lanka’s best-known surfing destination.
The meeting also decided to renovate underutilised government circuit bungalows and operate them as tourist hotels through public-private partnerships.
Herath instructed that a district-level subcommittee be set up under the District Secretary to address tourism-related problems, bringing in relevant government institutions along with wildlife, archaeological and police representatives. The subcommittee is to meet once every two months.
A special Cabinet committee has separately been appointed to resolve land issues in the Eastern Province and to release coastal land that has been illegally occupied, so it can be used for development.
Foreign employment and training
Funds have been allocated to establish a regional office of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment in Ampara next year, providing training for workers seeking jobs overseas.
The Sri Lanka Hotel School, together with the Ministry of Samurdhi, will launch a programme from Ampara offering free tourism sector training and employment opportunities to young people from low-income families.
Tourism Deputy Minister Professor Ruwan Ranasinghe, Deputy Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment Wasantha Piyatissa, the Ampara District Secretary and the Ampara Deputy Inspector General of Police attended the discussion.
