14 October 2023 05:42 am Views - 11642
Sri Lanka is to issue visas free of charge to tourists from five nations who are frequent visitors to the island, a cabinet minister said yesterday.
Minister of Tourism and Lands Harin Fernando told Daily Mirror that he and Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles submitted a Cabinet paper to this effect for its approval.
As per the cabinet paper, tourists from China, Russia, India, Thailand and Indonesia will be allowed to visit Sri Lanka without a visa fee. "Tourists of these five nations will be able to obtain visas without a fee. They will have to obtain visas when visiting Sri Lanka, but no fee will be charged. They will have to obtain a visa for security purposes," the Minister said.
“The purpose of the decision is to attract more tourists from these nations and to achieve the set target of attracting five million tourists to visit Sri Lanka annually in the coming years. Also, Sri Lanka is among 20 nations which China had recommended its citizens to visit," he noted. (Yohan Perera)