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Free visa programme to be reviewed

06 Oct 2019

The visa fee exemption facility, which was launched on 1 August to boost tourist arrivals, would be reviewed from November to December and either extended or discontinued based on its success. The programme was originally launched for a period of six months and is slated to end on 1 February 2020. The review will take place around two months prior to expiry. Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Johanne Jayaratne noted that the facility will be continued for another six-month period for countries that have shown a hike in tourist arrivals since its launch. However, it will be discontinued for countries that have not shown any improvement. “We will take up tourist arrivals under this programme and calculate the figures to determine progress. So far, the highest number of arrivals recorded under this programme were from India, Japan, Rumania, Italy, the US, Malaysia, Singapore, and Latvia. Italy and Latvia has recorded a threefold increase,” he noted, speaking to reporters in September about August arrivals. According to SLTDA data, tourist arrivals into Sri Lanka were gradually recovering since June following the Easter incidents, but dropped to 108,575 in September, the second month with the free visa in effect, compared to the 143,587 in the previous month and 115,701 in July. The largest source market for tourists was India, followed by China and the UK. Even though August arrivals recorded a month-over-month growth, the arrivals during the month were boosted mainly by Asian tourists as most of the western markets recorded lower arrivals compared to a month ago. Furthermore, the overall figure was boosted by the visitors who came down for the Bohra Global Convention. Sri Lanka’s top two traditional tourism-generating countries – India and China – saw a month-over-month growth during August, as they brought in 32,115 and 26,558 tourists, respectively, compared to the 18,309 and 6,926 tourist arrivals in July. However, the UK, Germany, France, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, the traditional western countries that are generally in and around the top 10 tourism-generating markets of Sri Lanka, reported lower numbers of arrivals in August, compared to July this year. The visa fee exemption facility, which was launched on 1 August to increase the arrivals and revive the terror-hit tourism industry for a period of six months, allows nationals from 48 selected countries to enter Sri Lanka with a free visa valid up to a month on their arrival. The programme was initially scheduled to be implemented in April but was suspended following the Easter attacks due to security reasons. Tourists from 48 countries benefit from this programme, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the UK, the US, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Canada, Singapore, New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, and Switzerland. The Government aims to bring down 2. 1 million tourists this year through this programme, in spite of the impact of the Easter attacks on the tourism industry. As of 30 September 2019, 1.37 million tourists had visited Sri Lanka.

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