Citizens of 48 countries will be eligible to enter Sri Lanka without being subject to additional entry requirements after the country’s government has moved to a free visa-on-arrival policy.
The new changes have been introduced in order to bring to the country a more significant number of visitors and thus help the travel and tourism sector recover from the significant damages caused by the spread of the Coronavirus and its new variants, VisaGuide.World reports.
According to a government document secured by Reuters, the cabinet agreed to abolish this kind of visa, which costs $20 to $40 and is applied for online or at Sri Lanka consulates and embassies.
“The offer will remain for six months, and the government will assess the loss of revenue from visas after six months,” an official from the Tourism Development Ministry told Reuters.
The measure has also been confirmed by Sri Lanka’s Tourism Development Minister, John Amaratunga. In addition, the Minister stressed that he expects that the move will boost tourism.
Among the 48 countries that will benefit from the recent changes are also European Countries, as well as the United States, Thailand, Australia, Canada, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Cambodia, Sweden, Demark, Norway, Iceland, Finland, as well as Russia.
>> Visa-Free Countries for Sri Lankan Passport Holders
The decision was also confirmed by the Minister of Tourism of Sri Lanka, Diana Gamage.
“One of the key secrets for their success undoubtedly is the Free Visa on arrival, and it’s high time Sri Lanka too takes a leaf from this and implements it,” she noted.
Gamage stressed that economic benefits would be more significant than the current revenue gained from visa fees to the country.
“I think it’s better to forget the USD 50 visa fee for a single passenger and woo tourists who spend around USD 1,000 per day. This is what Singapore and many other countries are successfully doing,” the tourism minister said.
According to the figures provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), authorities in Sri Lanka have registered a total of 672,110 COVID-19 infection cases since the start of the pandemic and 16,835 deaths.
WHO figures also reveal that more than 40,000,000 vaccine doses have been administered in this country up to this point.
Authorities in Sri Lanka abolished COVID-19 restrictions in December last year after confirming that the epidemiological situation permits such a decision to be introduced.
The lifting of COVID-19 restrictions has led to an increase in the number of visitors from other countries.
Tourism was considered the country’s third largest and fastest-growing source of international currency last year, accounting for about $4.4 billion or 4.9 percent of the gross domestic product in 2018.
>> Sri Lanka Visa – Visa Requirements and Ways to Apply
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