Sri Lanka’s tourism ministry says the move is aimed at attracting more tourists to the country.
Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved a proposal to grant free visas for five months to travellers from seven countries – India, China, Russia, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia and Thailand, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said on Tuesday. According to Sabry, the visa-free travel has started with immediate effect as a pilot project and will continue until 31 March.
According to Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Tourism, the move is aimed at attracting more tourists to the country. “We expect to increase tourist arrivals to five million in the coming years,” the ministry said, as quoted by Sri Lankan media.
The move is also expected to save money and time for travellers in obtaining visas.
Last week, the Ministry of Tourism announced that a proposal to issue free tourist visas to travellers from five countries had been tabled at the Cabinet meeting. The cabinet paper was reportedly presented jointly by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Tourism and Lands Harin Fernando, Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry.
The cabinet also proposed to introduce an e-ticketing system for most of the country’s tourist sites in the near future, the ministry said, local media reported.
