In his words, the change of the legal form of the department would allow hiring a better chief and cutting administrative costs.
“I believe the Tourism Department should be restructured into a public establishment. (…) If I’m not mistaken, the (third competition for the chief of the Tourism Department) was called before the resignation of the earlier minister. I need to look at the phase it is at, however, I think it would be wise to terminate the tender today,” Sinkevičius told journalists after meeting with President Dalia Grybauskaitė on Monday.
He later told BNS that the status as a public establishment would allow the department to get a better top official, as salaries of budgetary institutions are not competitive.
Lina Antanavičienė, chief adviser to the Lithuanian president, told journalists that tourism had been one of the most abandoned areas within the ministry’s competences.
“The president highlighted one of the key sectors for the future minister – tourism, which was probably one of the most abandoned fields of the ministry. It was plagued by incompetence and scandals undermining the country’s image,” said Antanavičienė.