Steps to be taken against trade activities carried out by foreigners in tourist areas

During the recent Ministerial Consultative Committee meeting on Tourism and Land Affairs, chaired by Tourism and Lands Minister Harin Fernando, a committee was appointed at the ministerial level to expedite the issuing of land title deeds through the Land Reforms Commission (LRC).

The Members of Parliament raised concerns about the delay in issuing title deeds by the Land Reform Commission and the committee was tasked with taking appropriate measures to resolve the issue. The Minister mentioned that the President expects to complete the work of providing title deeds that have not been issued yet and the committee will take a decision on completed land title deeds.

The Minister also instructed relevant authorities to call all Parliamentarians representing the northern province to discuss land issues in the region. The committee also discussed tourism promotion projects and plans to launch a mobile application providing complete information on new tourist centers, concessionary rates, transportation, and hotel facilities for foreign tourists.

MPs brought to the Minister’s attention the need to address trade activities carried out by foreigners in tourist areas, to which the Minister responded that the gazette announcement regarding the 16 identified tourism zones in Sri Lanka will be published in the near future, allowing for specific attention to be focused on related matters.

Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapakse, Minister of State Geeta Kumarasinghe, Member of the committee Selvam Adaikkalanathan, several Members of Parliament, and heads of government agencies under the Ministry of Tourism and Lands were present.