Sri Lanka expands visa on arrival access to boost arrivals
The Sri Lanka government has approved more nations for visa on arrival access in a bid to boost tourist arrivals following the Easter bombings.
Earlier this month it granted visa on arrival and the free visa programme for dozens of countries across Europe, the US Japan and Australia.
However it didn’t include its most important key source markets.
They have now been added with free visas now applicable for travellers from Russia, China, India and the UK, as well as Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, and the Philippines.
The visa-on-arrival pilot programme was initially to help increase tourist arrivals during the quieter off-season period from May to October.
However, this was suspended indefinitely after the Easter Sunday bomb attacks.
The visa on arrival scheme takes effect from August 1.
Kishu Gomes, chair of the Sri Lanka Tourism promotion Bureau, said tourist arrivals have been picking up in recent days despite it being the off-season.
He expects the recovery to continue and could be back to normal in about 3-4 months.
"It’s just a matter of time before we fully recover," Gomes said.
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