The Ministry of Tourism has spent Rs. 6 billion last year to send ministers and officials to participate in international travel fairs, Deputy Minister of Tourism Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe told Parliament yesterday.

He was responding to a query raised by former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake.

The Deputy Minister said the expenditure covered participation in major global travel exhibitions including ITB Berlin, the World Travel Market in London, and several other events across Europe and Asia, along with costs related to travel, accommodation, and logistics.

Responding to a question on the delay in launching Sri Lanka’s global tourism promotion campaign, Ranasinghe said Cabinet approval has already been granted for a Rs. 5 billion budget. However, the campaign is yet to commence pending government procurement procedures.

He also revealed that Rs. 13 billion collected through the Tourism Development Levy (TDL) and other levies is currently held by the Ministry.

“We plan to allocate Rs. 1 billion for an immediate global marketing campaign targeting the off-season, focusing on key markets such as China, India and Spain, to offset the decline in arrivals due to the Gulf conflict and seasonal downturn,” he said.

“We expect to launch this campaign next week.”

The Deputy Minister further noted that discussions have begun with global booking engines to explore the possibility of introducing a tax mechanism for their operations in Sri Lanka. (Shirajiv S.)