Govt. to convert president’s houses, ministers’ bungalows into tourist resorts
The government has invited entrepreneurs to invest in transforming President’s Houses and Ministers’ official bungalows in key tourist locations such as Nuwara Eliya, Anuradhapura, Mahiyanganaya and Kataragama into luxury holiday resorts targeting foreign visitors.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka made the announcement while leading the 2026 Pre-Budget Discussion with Private Sector Stakeholders in the Tourism Industry yesterday. He said a formal program to facilitate the initiative would be launched in the near future.
The President stressed that conventional promotional campaigns alone would not be sufficient to achieve the ambitious targets set for the tourism sector in 2026. Instead, he emphasized the need for a jointly implemented strategic program between the public and private sectors.
During the discussion, industry leaders pointed out several existing shortcomings and challenges hampering the sector’s growth. The President urged entrepreneurs to submit proposals to further strengthen and modernize the industry.
Senior government officials present included Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, Senior Economic Adviser to the President Duminda Hulugamuwa, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Russell Aponsu, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority Buddhika Hewawasam and Chairman of the Export Development Board Mangala Wijesinghe, alongside a large number of private sector representatives.
