COLOMBO – The government of Sri Lanka has extended the visa-free entry facility made available to seven countries.
As per a fresh announcement, Sri Lanka has extended its free visa liberty for citizens of China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, and Thailand.
The citizens from the above-listed countries can enjoy visa-free travel to Sri Lanka until May 24th this year. The visa-free entry was permitted last year when Sri Lanka introduced this facility but was later extended until April 30th, 2024.
The move is aimed at promoting tourism and supporting the fragile economy that has been hit hard by multiple factors including terrorism and the onslaught of the pandemic which brought travel to a standstill.
The visa-free regime for different countries has helped Sri Lanka massively. For instance, in the first three months of 2024, the country welcomed over 600,000 tourists, a number close to what it saw in 2018 before the pandemic. The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority reported that in March alone, over 200,000 tourists arrived, with India, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Germany being the top sources of visitors.
Sri Lanka aims to host 2.3 million visitors in 2024, after receiving 1.48 million visitors in 2023. The country expects to ramp up the numbers to 5 million in the coming years and the extension in visa-free liberty is a testament to that.
This surge in tourism is a positive sign for the country’s economy and its recovery from the impacts of the pandemic as well as the economic downfall.
