The teardrop-shaped island, Sri Lanka attracts tourists through its ancient monuments, jungles, gorgeous beaches, soulful cuisine, wildlife and its lush green hills. You can enjoy a range of activities here be it a rocking nightlife in Colombo, jungle safari, tour around the elephant orphanage and much more. So now that you’re all geared up the friendly Indian neighbour, here’s some great news for you. Indians can now travel visa-free to Sri Lanka all the way till 30th April 2020. The Sri Lankan government is drafting a Cabinet proposal intending to extend the free-visa scheme.
What’s In It?
It’s interesting to note that when it comes to Sri Lanka’s tourism market, we Indians are the biggest contributors. Sri Lanka witnesses around 18% of its tourist arrivals from India. And Indians had to pay around ₹2400 as visa fee on arrival to Sri Lanka. But after the Easter Sunday Attacks on April 21st 2019, the country’s tourism industry took a major hit. So Sri Lanka started granting free visas to travellers from 49 countries, India being one of them. This went on for a period of six months from 1st August 2019.
The Immigration and Emigration Department of Sri Lanka lobbied with the government to suspend the visa scheme due to loss of revenue, after the end of this visa-free period this month. Tourist arrivals slumped by a massive 70.8% to a record low of 37,802 in May 2019 following the bombings of three churches and luxury hotels in Colombo.
Also Read: I Went To Sri Lanka With My Family For 6 Days Under ₹50,000 Per Head Including Flights
What’s More?
So to curb this slump in tourism, this visa scheme was introduced in Sri Lanka to increase off tourism during the period from May to October. But after the terrorist attacks in Colombo, this scheme then progressed forward and will continue to stay till Sri Lanka’s tourism economy gets back on track. The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority has however stated that around 1.6 million tourists arrived from January to November compared to the 2 million tourist arrivals in the same period in 2018. Well, now that you can travel visa-free to Sri Lanka all the way till 30th April 2020, it’s time you make those travel plans with your family already. Did you know Malaysia Declares Country Visa-Free Entry For Indians In 2020?