Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said that he would listen to the opinions of people involved in the tourism business when preparing a national tourism policy.
The Opposition Leader said this after a delegation from the Dambulla area’s tourism sector met him at the office of the Opposition Leader on July 11.
He pointed out that the present government had not provided a solution to the auctioning of the properties of small and medium-scale operators in the tourism sector. No relief has been provided regarding the Parate law and the moratorium on payment of loans and instalments is tantamount to putting a noose on the neck of small and medium-scale industrialists, the Opposition Leader said.
He mentioned that Sri Lanka lacking a national tourism policy is an issue.The policy changes from Minister to Minister and the sector is in the grip of a few powerful people, he said. The Leader of the Opposition further said that there is a system in which small and medium-scale entrepreneurs are forgotten and a small powerful group acts like kings. He said that he is ready to defeat it.
The Opposition Leader said some people related to a powerful political family are targeting only Russian tourists and carrying out those activities for their own benefit, causing harm to the common people who are engaged in the tourism industry.