The Sri Lankan cabinet has approved a policy to issue free tourist visas to travellers from India and six other countries, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said on Tuesday.
The move is expected to aid Sri Lanka’s efforts to rebuild the tourism sector to pay off the huge accumulated debt. The Sri Lanka cabinet has approved the proposal to grant with immediate effect free visas to travellers from India, China, Russia, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia and Thailand.
Surprisingly, no European country is on the list and neither is the US. Started as a pilot project, it will continue till March 31 when it will presumably be reviewed.
More visitors from these seven countries are expected to increase tourist arrivals to over 50 lakh in the coming years, said the Sri Lankan Tourism Ministry. This year, when Sri Lanka is climbing out of an economic trough and the aftereffects of the pandemic, tourism arrivals are expected to marginally cross 15 lakh.