18-month delay in Sri Lanka’s tourism promotion campaign: President reveals why

Sri Lanka’s international tourism promotion campaign has faced delays for nearly 18 months due to outdated government procurement procedures, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has revealed.

Speaking at the Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit 2026 in Colombo, the President said existing procurement regulations were not designed to accommodate modern promotional campaigns, creating difficulties in selecting agencies and implementing tourism marketing initiatives.

He questioned how government procurement procedures, traditionally designed for purchasing physical goods, could be applied to creative services such as advertising and tourism promotion.

“Under our procurement procedures, we can purchase a desk. But what exactly is a promotional campaign? It is an idea. How do we purchase an idea?” the President questioned.

He explained that selecting an advertising agency required a proper mechanism to evaluate creative proposals and determine which offered the best value.

The President said efforts to implement the international tourism promotion campaign had been underway for approximately one and a half years.

However, the Sri Lanka Tourism Authority now expects to call for tenders in January 2027.

Meanwhile, smaller-scale tourism promotional initiatives have already commenced in five countries.

The President also revealed that the government was considering a proposal from tourism industry businesses to introduce performance-based incentives.

Under the proposal, businesses that attract tourists beyond an agreed growth target could receive payments through the Tourism Authority, with funds allocated in the next Budget.

The President stressed the importance of modernising government procurement procedures to accommodate creative services and emerging industries, allowing development and promotional initiatives to be implemented more efficiently. (Newswire)

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