The spokesman said a bigger contingent of men and sniffer dogs will be deployed when the second stage begins on January 15. CTB Director in Delhi moves to Eritrea Ceylon Tourist Board's Director in Delhi, Pani Seneviratne has been recruited by the Ministry of Tourism of the Government of Eritrea as its Director of Product Development with effect from January 2000. Eritrea was an Italian colony since 1880 and later came under the British. It was part of Ethiopia until 1994 when Eritrea declared itself independent after a war of liberation and a referendum. The newly liberated state has launched an accelerated programme of development.
Tourism occupies priority of status in view of the abundant sites of historic interest.
Pani Seneviratne was previously sponsored by the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation to function as Tourism Advisor to the Caribbean State of Grenada for three years from 1993 to 1995. He assisted the Grenada Board of Tourism in tourism training apart from drafting a Tourism Policy document and preparing the Terms of Reference for a Master Plan for Tourism Development for foreign funding. He also acted as the GBT's Head of Marketing as part of his assignment. Seneviratne holds the M. Sc. Degree in Tourism Planning and Development from the University of Surrey in England.