Politick Parliament. On record. For every citizen.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
10th Parliament· 154 sittings on record · 30,475 speeches · latest 10 June 2026

Sitting of Tuesday, 5 May 2026

10th Parliament· 18 debates· 352 speeches· 107 speakers

Source: Hansard PDF (parliament.lk) ↗ ·No. 23546 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard

‹ Previous sitting Next sitting ›

Order of business

Speeches load per item. Summaries shown here are AI-generated and labelled; verbatim text is on each speech page.

  7. 7 Oral question Oral Question Q.3 (467/2025): Tourist Arrivals from 2010 - Details 10 speeches
    • The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF

      AI summary Hon. Ravi Karunanayake requested detailed data from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism on Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, including hotel capacity and employment by district, Airbnb and Booking.com activity, tourist arrivals and earnings since 2010, tax payments, average stays, repeat visitors, and source-country arrivals from 2020 onward. He also asked the Minister to identify weaknesses and negative impacts in the tourism industry and explain the steps taken to address them.

      Foreign Affairs Full speech →
    • The Hon. (Prof.) Ruwan Ranasinghe - Deputy Minister of Tourism JJB

      AI summary The Deputy Minister provided tourism sector data on behalf of the relevant Minister, including 31 registered star-class hotels with 4,787 rooms, annual tourist arrivals and earnings from 2010 to 2025, average length of stay, repeat visitor estimates, and country-wise arrivals, while noting several categories of data were unavailable with the SLTDA. He reported that tourist arrivals recovered to 2.36 million in 2025 with earnings of USD 3.219 billion, and that repeat visitors account for about 18 per cent of arrivals based on exit surveys. He also identified key weaknesses in the tourism industry, including inadequate provincial attraction planning, limited digitalization and destination marketing, weak coordination, insufficient investment, limited community participation, disaster-risk gaps, and inadequate data, and outlined associated negative impacts on competitiveness, satisfaction, regional development, and sector resilience.

      InfrastructureForeign Affairs Full speech →
    • The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF

      AI summary Hon. Ravi Karunanayake questioned the Government on the lack of answers to his earlier queries regarding online accommodation and payment platforms, including Airbnb and Booking.com. He asked for an update on a payment platform reportedly being developed in Brisbane from March 2025 and due within two years, and raised concerns that offshore settlement of tourism-related transactions is reducing revenue captured in Sri Lanka. He urged the Government to explain how it will prevent such leakages and ensure these financial flows are brought within the domestic system.

      Foreign AffairsPublic Finance Full speech →
    • The Hon. (Prof.) Ruwan Ranasinghe JJB

      AI summary Agreed that the matter under discussion is sensitive and should be handled carefully.

      Parliamentary Procedure Full speech →
    • The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF

      AI summary The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake sought clarification on the meaning of the term “sensitive” in the context of the discussion. His intervention was a brief request for definition or explanation rather than a substantive policy argument.

      Parliamentary Procedure Full speech →
    • The Hon. (Prof.) Ruwan Ranasinghe JJB

      AI summary Hon. (Prof.) Ruwan Ranasinghe said regulation of online accommodation platforms must be handled carefully because many small guesthouses depend on them for bookings and could be harmed if platforms delist properties in response to taxation measures. He stated that discussions have begun with the platforms to bring them into a tax payment framework, which would support oversight, and that SLTDA is implementing registration to bring informal accommodation providers into compliance.

      InfrastructurePublic Finance Full speech →
    • The Hon. Speaker procedural
      Full speech →
    • The Hon. (Prof.) Ruwan Ranasinghe JJB

      AI summary Hon. (Prof.) Ruwan Ranasinghe stated that talks have begun on tax remittance mechanisms and further discussions are underway on information sharing. He said the matter must be handled responsibly but will not be allowed to continue indefinitely, and that necessary measures are being developed.

      Public Finance Full speech →
    • The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF

      AI summary Ravi Karunanayake questioned the effectiveness of Sri Lanka’s tourism promotion strategy, noting inconsistent branding and limited international visibility, including the absence of Colombo from CNN weather coverage. He asked why funds collected from the formal hotel sector through the TDL/CESS, amounting to about Rs. 13 billion, were not being used more effectively for domestic and international marketing, and said industry stakeholders were concerned about a lack of clear direction from the Ministry.

      Foreign Affairs Full speech →
    • The Hon. (Prof.) Ruwan Ranasinghe JJB

      AI summary Hon. (Prof.) Ruwan Ranasinghe outlined ongoing and planned tourism promotion activities, noting that over Rs. 6 billion was spent on trade fair promotion in the previous year. He said a Rs. 5 billion global promotion programme is before the Treasury and awaiting Cabinet approval, while a Rs. 1 billion short-term campaign targeting off-season markets in China, India, Australia, and Spain has already been approved. Further promotional activities are expected to begin within about a month, subject to standard government procedures.

      Public FinanceForeign Affairs Full speech →