Posted by ONLANKA Newsroom on June 9, 2026 – 8:51 pm
Sri Lanka’s tourism income has not declined, and using internationally accepted scientific survey strategies as a substitute of the beforehand used knowledge assortment system has merely supplied a extra correct image of vacationers’ spending patterns, Minister of Overseas Affairs, Overseas Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath instructed Parliament at present (June 9).
The Minister made the remarks whereas responding to questions raised by MP Ravi Karunanayake beneath Standing Order 27(2).
He mentioned the survey methodology beforehand utilized in Sri Lanka was primarily based on a restricted pattern dimension and, in response to the federal government, may point out increased tourism earnings than the precise figures. He famous that internationally acknowledged survey methodologies at the moment are being adopted, permitting authorities to extra precisely establish the quantity spent by international vacationers in Sri Lanka.
The Minister said that there was no vital change or decline in vacationers’ spending conduct and that the principle distinction is that the information is now being reported extra precisely.
Throughout the dialogue, MP Ravi Karunanayake raised a supplementary query, claiming that vacationer bank card funds are usually not processed via the Central Financial institution of Sri Lanka’s LankaPay system however via exterior fee gateways, leading to round 2.5% of international change that ought to enter the nation being misplaced unofficially.
In response, the Minister mentioned no correct mechanism had beforehand been established to handle the difficulty. He famous that Sri Lanka had for a few years did not introduce tax techniques and assortment mechanisms for worldwide digital platforms. He additionally identified that such a mechanism had not been launched throughout Karunanayake’s tenure as Finance Minister.
The Minister mentioned the present authorities is addressing the matter inside a brief interval. In line with him, the related tax techniques have already been launched, whereas mechanisms have been established via the funds course of to gather taxes from the related worldwide organizations and digital platforms.
Whereas acknowledging that some cash spent by vacationers leaves the nation via such transactions, he pressured the necessity for a correct system to make sure that as a lot income as potential stays inside Sri Lanka.
He mentioned new legal guidelines and technological measures are required to realize this goal and added that the federal government is working to implement each authorized and technical options as rapidly as potential.
The Minister additional said that integrating transactions into the LankaPay system is among the many key measures already being pursued towards that objective.
