COLOMBO – In a bid to revive its tourism industry and aid its recovering economy, Sri Lanka’s Cabinet has approved the issuance of free tourist visas to visitors from 35 countries, including China, India, and Russia, a top official announced on August 22.
The new visa policy, which grants tourists 30-day visas under a six-month pilot program starting from October 1, aims to bolster tourist arrivals and transform Sri Lanka into a “free visa country,” similar to Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, according to Cabinet spokesman and Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardana.
The initiative includes a broad range of countries, such as the UK, Germany, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Australia, Japan, and France, among others.
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, once a key economic driver, was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and a financial crisis in 2022 that triggered mass protests and widespread shortages of essential goods, including fuel. However, the industry has shown signs of recovery, with nearly 2 million tourist arrivals by mid-August 2023—the highest since 2019. The country expects to reach 2.3 million arrivals by the end of the year.
India remains Sri Lanka’s largest source of tourists, with 246,922 arrivals so far in 2023, followed by the UK with 123,992 visitors, according to the Sri Lanka Development Authority. In the first six months of 2024, Sri Lanka earned US$1.5 billion from tourism, a significant increase from the US$875 million recorded during the same period in 2023, as reported by the central bank.
This new visa policy is expected to further boost the tourism sector, helping to secure Sri Lanka’s economic recovery.