SLTDA receiving the Award at E-Swabhimani 2017. From L-R: Kasun Wijewardnea - OTBLS Application Support, Udana Wickramasinghe-Director ICT Sri Lanka Tourism, Chitrangani Mubarak - Chairperson- ICTA, Dr. Ajith Pasqual.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) was adjudged the winner in the 'Government and Citizen Engagement' category at the E-Swabhimani award ceremony, organised by the Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), at Hotel Galadari in Colombo on 30^th of November.

The event ceremony, held for the seventh consecutive year this time, aimed to bolster digital application development in the country and to create awareness among the general public on the need to move government services into the digital space.

The SLTDA was recognized for its Online Tourism Business Licensing Service (OTBLS) which caterers to the booming tourism sector of the country.

Hon.Minister of Tourism and Christian Religious Affairs, Mr John Amaratunga congratulating the team at SLTDA. From L-R: Sampath Ganepalaarachchi Director Finance, Malraj Kiriella Director General, Udana Wickramasinghe Director ICT and Chandana Wijeratne Director Standards and Quality Assurance

The key objective of the solution is to project tourism business licensing -a mandatory requirement by law for tourism service providers - as an online service, making the process more efficient and accessible to any tourism business from any part of the country.

The fact that the SLTDA has discontinued its offline licensing process and has opted to rely solely on the platform was recognised and appreciated by the panel of judges who stated it would ensure that a smooth and well-monitored workflow system.

The platform also has an extranet which allows applicants to check the status of the application or renewal and receive status alerts on their submission via SMS and email. The licensing system also uses the Lanka Government Payment Services (LGPS) as the mechanism to accept online payments.

Currently, Sri Lanka Tourism caters to over 3,400 tourism businesses ranging from large five start hotel chains, travel agents to home-stays scattered all over the country and over 3,000 individuals who have been registered as tour guides.