Visa New Rule: Sabri says this move will increase the number of tourists in the coming years. “We are expecting the number of tourists to increase to 5 million in the coming years,” the ministry was quoted by Sri Lankan media as saying. The move is also expected to save money and time for travelers to obtain visas.
The Sri Lankan government has approved free visas for travelers from seven countries including India, China, Russia, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia and Thailand. According to Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabri, the initiative has started immediately as a pilot project and will remain in effect till March 31. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabri tweeted that the Sri Lankan Cabinet has approved the issuance of free visas to India, China, Russia, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia and Thailand with immediate effect till March 31 as a pilot project.
The number of tourists is expected to increase
Sabri says this move will increase the number of tourists in the coming years. “We are expecting the number of tourists to increase to 5 million in the coming years,” the ministry was quoted by Sri Lankan media as saying. The move is also expected to save money and time for travelers to obtain visas. According to a Sri Lankan media report, the ministry said that apart from this, the cabinet has also proposed to introduce e-ticketing system for most of the tourist destinations in the country in the near future.
Earlier last week, Sri Lanka’s Tourism Ministry had announced that a proposal was tabled in the cabinet meeting to issue free tourist visas to travelers from five countries. The cabinet paper was reportedly jointly presented by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Tourism and Lands Minister Harin Fernando, Public Security Minister Tiran Ailes and Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabri.
