Sri Lanka marked a major milestone in its tourism development efforts with the official launch of the Marine Tourism Roadmap on Thursday, April 10, 2025 in Colombo. This initiative, led by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under its technical assistance program TA9881 SRI: Supporting Tourism Resilience, lays the groundwork for a new chapter in tourism and the nation’s blue economy.
The Marine Tourism Roadmap was developed through an extensive process of data collection, stakeholder consultations and site visits conducted by the ADB appointed international consultant together with officials of the SLTDA. The final validation of the Roadmap was done by the Marine Tourism Steering Committee, which included representatives from key marine related public and private sector institutions. International expertise was provided by Ms. Aleksandra Dragozet (CEO & Founder – Sea Going Green), ADB’s appointed marine tourism consultant, whose guidance ensured the strategy aligned with global best practices for sustainable tourism. The SLTDA officials, Dr. Prasad Jayasuriya, Director-Tourism Planning, Development & Investments and Mr. S Dadeepan, Assistant Director-Tourism Planning & Development coordinated all meetings, site visits and activities with relevant stakeholders and the Steering Committee.