Sri Lanka’s efforts to provide free visa entrance for tourists from seven countries has begun reaping its results, The Daily Morning Business learnt.
Speaking to The Daily Morning Business,Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Priantha Fernando said: “ We see a positive response from the markets where we have relaxed it, the countries such as China, India, Russia. Moreover , Japan shows even better results. Marginal increases (in revenue) have been indicated.”
Certainly there are positive signs in relaxing visas for other major generating markets as well, he stated.
In addition, the free- visa entry strategy is part of attempts to boost Sri lankan tourism recovery and meet a target of 5,000,000 tourists arrivals by 2026.
Moreover, SLTDA affirms that the relaxation of visa requirements is, therefore, significant.
Fernando pointed out the necessity of laying off the visa fee for certain other markets while extending the exemption given for the seven countries that will be effective until 31 March.
The SLTDA initially requested the said free tourist visa to Russia, China and India only.
However, there has been a special committee in this regard that has been set up which stressed the potential few other countries that the same incentive should be given. Therforere, as a pilot project, it was suggested to select Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan apart from what has been suggested by the SLTDA.
Additionally, Daily Pakistan reports that the Controller General Harsha Ilukpitiya of Sri Lanka's Department of Immigration and Emigration has recently announced Sri Lanka plans to streamline the visa application process to attract more tourists.
Currently, the visa-free entry is open to countries such as India, China, Russia, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia and Thailand.
The Department of Immigration and Emigration is coming up with changes that will allow applicants to secure a visa for the entire duration of their stay when applying from a foreign country, effectively eliminating the need for extensions after arrival. Since, the current visa procedures only allow individuals on tourist visa to extend their stay for up to one month after arrival, Daily Pakistan reported.