People of India will now be able to travel to neighboring country Sri Lanka without visa. The Cabinet of Sri Lanka has approved the proposal to allow travelers from seven countries including India to visit the country without visa. The decision has been taken as part of efforts to revive the debt-ridden island nation’s tourism sector.
Key points
- Sri Lanka waived visa fees for tourists on 24 October 2023 to boost tourism and boost foreign exchange reserves in efforts to boost tourist arrivals and help rebuild the economy.
- India is traditionally Sri Lanka’s top inbound tourist market.
- More than 2 lakh Indian tourists (which is 20% of total tourist arrivals) have visited Sri Lanka by September 2023.
- The Sri Lankan Cabinet announced the implementation of a pilot project to issue free tourist visas to tourists from China, India, Russia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan till March 31, 2024.
- The move is part of ‘several new programmes’ planned to boost the Sri Lankan tourism industry.
- Tourism is one of the foreign exchange earning sectors in Sri Lanka.
- Sri Lanka’s tourism sector has been affected by terrorist attacks in 2019, the COVID pandemic in 2020 and 2021, and the economic crisis in 2022.
- Indian tourists were charged a fee of $20 for online visa application.
- The decision to issue free tourist visas is likely to boost tourist arrivals from other countries including India.
Sri Lanka
- Sri Lanka is an island country located in the northern part of the Indian Ocean in South Asia. The distance of this country situated in the south of India is only 31 kilometers from India. The respectful word “Sri” was added before Lanka to make it Sri Lanka.
- Colombo, the largest city of Sri Lanka, is an important port from the point of view of sea transportation. (Vedas) tribe is found in Sri Lanka. The Palk Strait is located between India and Sri Lanka.