Here are the latest developments I can share about Booking.com and Sri Lanka based on recent reporting:
- The Sri Lankan government has signaled plans to curb Booking.com’s dominance in the local tourism market by promoting local booking platforms and ensuring proper tax contributions from OTAs. This was discussed in Parliament in March 2025, with officials noting Booking.com’s large local presence and tax concerns.[2][3]
- Multiple local initiative efforts were reported, including development of Sri Lankan-backed platforms and partnerships with local hoteliers to create alternatives that could extend beyond accommodation to other tourism services. The aim is to introduce competition and reduce monopoly risk in online travel bookings.[3][4][2]
- There has been coverage of potential regulatory actions and policy debates around taxation of Booking.com in Sri Lanka, with ministers emphasizing fair taxation and the broader goal of fostering local competition. Some articles note concerns about possible impacts on visibility if international platforms are restricted or delisted.[4][2]
- Several Sri Lankan outlets and commentator pieces from 2025 discuss the plan to launch local platforms by April or in the near term, to challenge Booking.com’s dominance and improve market fairness. These discussions reference the broader tourism recovery context and the importance of SME participation.[3][4]
If you’d like, I can pull more precise quotes from these articles, summarize the regulatory timeline, or investigate current status as of May 2026. I can also prepare a quick at-a-glance timeline or a short briefing for policymakers or business owners in Sri Lanka.
Sources
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www.booking.comSri Lanka plans to introduce local alternatives to Booking.com by April, aiming to boost competition and support local tourism.
mawratanews.lkThe Sri Lankan government is taking steps to regulate online hotel booking platforms, citing concerns over tax contributions from existingContinue Reading
www.newswire.lkseeking-alternatives-to-bookingcom-for-the-tourism-sector-minister-vijitha
www.gossiplankanews.comSri Lanka’s tourism industry, which showed promising signs of recovery in 2025, now faces a self-inflicted setback as the government moves to challenge international online travel agents (OTAs) such as Booking.com, Agoda, and Expedia. Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath has accused these global platforms of tax evasion and monopolistic practices, vowing to create a government-backed centralised […]
lankanewsweb.netඅන්තර්ජාතික සංචාරක සේවා වේදිකාව වන Booking.com සඳහා දේශීය විකල්ප අප්රේල් මස අග වන විට එළිදක්වන බව සංචාරක අමාත්ය විජිත හේරත් පවසයි. අමාත්යවරයා සඳහන් කර ඇත්තේ සපයනු ලබන සේවාවන්හි තාක්ෂණික අංග සහ සම්පූර්ණ පැකේජ සූදානම් බවයි. “වෙනත් විකල්ප නොමැති විට අපි භාවිත කළ වේදිකාව Booking.com වූ නිසා තරඟකරුවන් නොමැතිව අතිරික්ත වෙළඳපොළ කොටසක් අල්ලා ගැනීමට ඉන් ඉඩ [...]
www.ceylonwire.lkSpeaking to the Sunday Times*, the Minister noted that the technical elements and complete packages of the services being provided were ready. “Booking.com was the platform we used when there were no other options, so this allowed it to capture an excess market share with no competitors,” the Minister noted. The Minister addressing Parliament on March 18, announced the government’s intentions to break the monopoly created by the brand as the platform currently pays no taxes in Sri Lanka while...
www.sundaytimes.lkSeveral prestigious airlines including Sri Lankan Airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad, Singapore Airlines, Oman Airways, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways, as well as charter flight loads of tourists, now operate into our international airports, enhancing good January 2021After a period of ten months, Sri Lankan borders finally reopened for international tourism on the 21st January 2021! And we
www.bookingsrilanka.com