Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved the issuance of free tourist visas to visitors from seven countries in a bid to boost tourism and help revive the country’s ailing economy.
According to a report by Reuters, tourists from China, India, Russia, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia will be viable to be issued free visas until 31 March 2024 as part of a pilot program. It is unclear whether the scheme could be extended if successful.
Sri Lanka is looking to revive a tourism industry that has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently a financial crisis that saw the country last year default on US$51 billion foreign debt and subsequently seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund amid major food, fuel and goods shortages.
Efforts to turn its ailing economy around included the appointment by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka’s “casino king” Dhammika Perera as Investment Minister with a mandate to attract foreign investment into the country. Perera owns three of the Sri Lanka’s five casino licenses, operating Bally’s Colombo, Bellagio Colombo and MGM Colombo.
The introduction of free visas is with a view to achieving Sri Lanka’s ambitious goal of 5 million foreign visitor arrivals by 2026.
According to Reuters, the country clocked 1 million arrivals by September for the first time since 2019 and is on track to reach 1.5 million arrivals by the end of the year, with India and Russia its two largest source markets.
Central bank figures show that Sri Lanka earned US$1.3 billion from tourism in the first eight months of 2023, up from US$833 million dollars during the same period last year.
