Suranjith Wewita has been appointed Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), Ada Derana reported.
The appointment fills the vacancy created by the resignation of former chairman Buddhika Hewawasam, who stepped down on Monday citing personal and professional reasons.
Ada Derana said Wewita also serves as a member of the Presidential Task Force. The report did not specify which task force, and gave no further detail on his background or prior roles in the tourism sector.
Fills a post vacant for a day
Hewawasam submitted his resignation in a letter to the Minister of Tourism, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment, sent through the Ministry Secretary. He had held the post since October 2024, taking it up at the invitation of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Neither Ada Derana nor Hiru News named a successor when the resignation was reported, and Hewawasam said at the time that he would support an orderly transition to the incoming leadership.
Takes over a mixed season
The new chairman inherits a sector running hot and cold. Arrivals passed 1.4 million for the year in early August, and India remained the largest source market at roughly a quarter of all visitors. But SLTDA figures showed arrivals in the first days of August running about 8% below the same period last year.
No date was given for when Wewita takes up the post, and the SLTDA had not published a statement on the appointment at the time of reporting. Ada Derana was the only outlet carrying the appointment at the time of writing.
