Tourism SMEs granted relief under provisional licences

Small businesses in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry to be granted relief with provisional licenses since 60 per cent are still not registered with authorities.
Unfortunately, since 60 per cent of the tourist service providers in Sri Lanka belongs to the informal sector who haven’t registered with SLTDA, many have not been able to avail the relief measures which is brought to authority’s notice, Kimarli Fernando, Chairperson Sri Lanka Tourism stated. 
The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has created provisional licensing to assist these SMEs thereby enabling them to seek COVID-19 health certification to host tourists in the future.
SMEs in the tourism sector comprise 60 per cent of the industry and it is estimated that over 50,000 SMEs contribute to the economy.
They can initially opt for a provisional license of six months and later register with the authorities fully, the SLTDA said in a media release.
Moreover, authorities are now considering levying the Tourism Development Levy (TDL) from online travel agents since currently only local travel agents and the accommodation sector contribute to this fund. (SD)