Sri Lanka to revive suspended visa on arrival program to 39 countries excluding India, China

The Sri Lankan government plans to revive the visa on arrival and free visa program, which was suspended following the Easter Sunday blasts, for citizens of 39 countries, excluding India and China, from August 1, according to a media report.

Sri Lanka had on April 25 suspended its plans to grant visas on arrival to citizens of 39 countries after the devastating suicide bombings on April 21 that killed 258 people. The visa on arrival pilot program was part of a larger initiative to increase tourist arrivals to the country during the six month off-season period from May to October. 

Sri Lanka's tourism industry, which accounts for around five percent of the country's GDP, is likely to suffer due to the blasts, according to industry analysts. Tourism Development Minister John Amaratunga on Tuesday said that his ministry along with the Department of Immigration and Emigration are jointly working on a proposal to seek Cabinet approval to revive the free visa and visa on arrival program, the Daily Mirror reported.

He noted that the program will be implemented as a trial for a period of six months excluding the country's top source markets of India and China. However, he said that the program could be extended to these two counties as well in the future based on the success of the trial run.

READ: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena Extends State Of Emergency In Surprise Move Over Easter Sunday Terror Attacks

The minister emphasised that a monitoring system would be put in place to prevent undesirable people from entering the country. We need a system to monitor who is arriving in Sri Lanka and to prevent criminals and other troublemakers entering the country, he stressed.

The countries that will be included in the visa on arrival program include Austria, the UK, the US, Japan, Australia, and Canada, the report said.

The island nation received 7,40,600 foreign tourists in the first three months of 2019. Around 450,000 Indians visited Sri Lanka last year and the island nation was expecting the total Indian tourist arrivals to cross one million mark in 2019.

Tourism revenues in Lanka increased to USD 362.7 million in November from USD 284 million in October 2018, according to reports

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