Sri Lanka introduces new land policy to promote tourism
August 22, 2012 04:24 pm
Sri Lanka has introduced new land policy to attract foreign
investment for tourism, a minister said on Wednesday.
Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, deputy minister for Economic
Development, said the Cabinet has given nod to lease out state lands for hotel
projects for foreign investors under 99 years lease agreement.
“The lands will be leased out on the prices valued by
Government Chief Valuer,” Abeygwardena said.
Sri Lanka’s robust post-war tourism sector continued to
grow, posting a 7.8 percent rise in July from a year earlier, according to
government data.
During the first seven months of the year, Sri Lanka’s
tourism grew 16.7 percent in comparison to 2011 with UK tourists marking the
second highest arrival rate behind India.
Meanwhile, revenue from tourism has increased 24.3 percent
to 459.9 million U.S. dollars this year, according to the Central Bank.
With the demand, seven star class hotels including some eco-
friendly branded have been opened this year and over 300 rooms were added to
the industry. “This was over 27 million U.S. dollar investment on country’s
tourism,” said Abeygwardena.
Sri Lanka has set ambitious targets of one million arrivals
for 2012 with its rising to 2.5 million by 2016. Two billion U.S. dollars in
earnings are also expected from the industry this year. (Xinhua)
