Public Statement: The President must Retract SLTDA Chairman’s endorsement of LGBTQIA Tourism

Public Statement

The President must Retract SLTDA Chairman’s endorsement of LGBTQIA Tourism

His Excellency the President has given solemn assurances to the Maha Nayaka Theros that Sri Lanka’s national heritage, culture, and religious values will be protected and safeguarded in all state policy. He has also publicly praised our heritage as the foundation of tourism and development.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtDQBeEPUHo&t=196s

Yet, in complete contradiction, the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) formally endorsed an NGO-led initiative to promote and develop LGBTQIA tourism in Sri Lanka. His letter dated 9th September 2025 grants authority to liaise with hotels, tour operators, training institutes, guides, and drivers to conduct DE&I training and awareness programs, while positioning Sri Lanka as a “safe and inclusive” LGBTQIA destination.

This endorsement is not only outside SLTDA’s mandate, but also directly contradicts the assurances made by the President to the Maha Nayaka Theros and is against the moral position taken by the Catholic Cardinal. Both the Sangha and the Church have clearly called on the government not to permit such cultural distortions.

Moreover, training tourism officials in DEI would force them to cater to LGBTQIA-specific demands — including gender-neutral toilets and facilities (at taxpayer expense), LGBTQIA-focused promotional campaigns, staff pronoun training, sensitivity workshops, certification of hotels as LGBTQIA-friendly, and even coordination of same-sex weddings — all entirely outside SLTDA’s traditional mandate. This amounts to institutional capture of a state body by a private NGO.

The President must therefore:

1. Instruct the SLTDA Chairman to immediately retract this endorsementissued to EQUAL GROUND on 9 September 2025

2. Instruct the SLTDA Chairman to re-issue formal letters to all stakeholders named in the letter, withdrawing the LGBTQIA tourism endorsement.

3. Reaffirm the government’s commitmentto protect Sri Lanka’s heritage, culture, and religious values in tourism policy and ensure no Tourism official violate this in future and take necessary actions against officials who do so.

The people of Sri Lanka expect the President to follow through on the demand of the Maha Nayaka Theros and the Cardinal.

The public will be alert on DEI training & awareness taking place, LGBTQIA promotional material in brochures and “inclusivity” branding being pushed into Sri Lanka Tourism by some officials at the cost of eroding our cultural and spiritual foundation inspite of the public assurance given to the Maha Sangha by the President.

Failure to act will be interpreted as silent approval. It will not only erode public trust, but also violate the President’s constitutional mandate to protect the heritage, culture, and values of Sri Lanka.