Sri Lanka’s Presidential Task Force for the Tourism Sector reviewed three new development initiatives on Tuesday, including a proposed ferry service linking Galle on the southern coast with Kankesanthurai in the north, draft legislation to support film tourism and a “Southern Mist Corridor” that would knit Galle, Matara and Ratnapura into a single tourism zone, Newswire reported.
The meeting was held at the Presidential Secretariat under the chairmanship of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath. A proposal for the Galle–Kankesanthurai (KKS) ferry has already been submitted to the Board of Investment as part of a broader marine tourism push, and preparations are underway to launch the service. If implemented it would mark Sri Lanka’s first domestic coast-to-coast passenger ferry connecting the deep south with the northern Jaffna peninsula.
On film tourism, the task force discussed practical challenges faced by foreign film crews in obtaining filming approvals in Sri Lanka, with officials reviewing progress on a single-window approvals system and the parallel resolution of temporary-importation hurdles for filming equipment, the President’s Media Division said in a fuller readout reported by Ada Derana.
The Southern Mist Corridor proposal — covering Galle, Matara and Ratnapura — would extend a broader development plan across the Southern and Sabaragamuwa Provinces around the Sinharaja forest reserve, the Kanneliya–Dediyagala–Nakiyadeniya forest complex and the Hiniduma mountain range, the PMD said. The zone is designed to introduce a regulated framework against unpermitted hotel construction and environmental degradation already affecting the area, while supporting tea-tourism and eco-tourism. An Integrated Operations Committee will coordinate the programme.
The task force separately reviewed a 10-year, three-phase Maritime Tourism Corridor that Capital Marine and Civil Construction (CMC) would implement, beginning with ferry services based in Jaffna in the Northern Province before expanding towards Colombo and Galle. The Galle–KKS proposal sits alongside that wider corridor design as a domestic anchor route.
A joint Air Force / Civil Aviation Authority / Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau initiative to promote skydiving for tourists around Koggala Airport was also reviewed, alongside finalised guidelines for whale and dolphin watching that include an online operator-registration system. The task force discussed a “Marine Night” weekend programme at Colombo’s Marine Drive as part of a wider night-tourism push, and reviewed visa policy and tourist-security concerns.
The session was attended by Deputy Minister of Tourism Ruwan Ranasinghe, MPs Upul Kithsiri (Ratnapura), T.K. Jayasundara (Galle) and Lal Premanath (Matara), Presidential Secretary Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Senior Economic Adviser Duminda Hulangamuwa, Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Himali Arunathilaka and SLTDA Director General Malkanthi Rajapaksa.
The task force has been the main forum for tourism policy initiatives this cycle, having previously weighed cable-car projects at Adam’s Peak and other sites. The KKS ferry proposal lands as Sri Lanka’s existing Kankesanthurai–Nagapattinam international service has faced operational disruption, including an engine-failure incident off the Tamil Nadu coast in May.
Officials said the proposals reflect efforts to diversify Sri Lanka’s tourism offerings as the country pushes its 2026 arrivals target past one million.
