The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake
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.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, about 40% of my questions remain unanswered. There is no information on Airbnb or Booking.com; without those, we cannot assess properly. I had specifically asked in February 2025 about control over payment platforms. The Minister then informed the Committee that a payment platform was being developed in Brisbane, started in March 2025, to be delivered in two years. What progress has been made? Today many payment platforms route transactions outside Sri Lanka; consequently, actual revenue captured domestically is lower. Last year arrivals rose by 11%, but earnings fell by 8.4%. Funds leak abroad. How will the Government rectify this and ensure proper domestic capture? I have also informed you in writing: in at least three neighbouring countries, platforms settle offshore, causing us to lose potentially billions. How will you ensure these flows are captured here?
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Tuesday, 5 May 2026 ·No. 23546 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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/lk/speeches/19705
Cite as: The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 5 May 2026. No. 23546. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/19705