A Cultural Diplomacy-Led Policy Reform Framework for Heritage Tourism in Sri Lanka

May 13, 2026   Reading Time: < 1 minute

Reading Time: < 1 min read

Thevni Sendanayake 

Research Intern at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKI)

Abstract:  Drawing on the concept of “Balinization,” which is the progressive reconfiguration of local cultural heritage to fit globalized tourism imaginaries, this study examines how Sri Lanka’s heritage tourism governance enables structural vulnerabilities to cultural commodification and unequal cultural representation. It critically analyses the Tourism Act No. 38 of 2005, the Antiquities
Ordinance of 1940, and the absence of a Cultural Impact Assessment framework, arguing that these gaps collectively weaken protections for living cultural traditions and expose them to market-driven distortion. The study calls for urgent policy reform grounded in cultural diplomacy, positioning heritage as a form of national soft power requiring active state involvement, and recommends coordinated action across the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism; the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs; the Central Cultural Fund; and Parliament to ensure more ethical, transparent, and sustainable heritage tourism governance.