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A surfboard is seen in the middle of an empty beach near hotels in Galle, Sri Lanka. Photo: Reuters
AsiaSouth Asia

Sri Lanka to offer visitors from China, Malaysia, elsewhere in Asia free tourist visas to boost crisis-hit economy

  • Tourists from Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, India and Russia will also be issued free visas until March 31 next year under the pilot programme
  • The Indian Ocean nation had its tourism industry pummelled by the pandemic and a severe financial crisis that led to mass protests and shortages
Sri Lanka
Reuters
Reuters
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Sri Lanka’s cabinet approved issuing free tourist visas to visitors from seven countries including China, India and Russia, a statement issued by the media ministry said, to boost tourism and help revive its crisis-hit economy.
Tourists from China, India, Russia, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia will be issued free visas until March 31, 2024 under a pilot programme, said the statement released on Tuesday detailing cabinet decisions.

The scheme is part of attempts by Sri Lanka to boost tourism recovery and hit a target of five million arrivals by 2026, the statement added.

The Chinese-built Lotus Tower as seen from the air in Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka. Photo: Xinhua
The country of 22 million people, famed for its beaches, ancient temples and aromatic tea, saw its tourism industry pummelled first by the Covid-19 pandemic and then by a severe financial crisis last year that saw massive protests and shortages of essentials such as fuel.

But the tourism industry is seeing a turnaround in 2023 with Sri Lanka clocking a million arrivals by September, for the first time since 2019. The island is expecting to close the year at 1.5 million arrivals.

India is the largest source of tourists with 200,310 arrivals, followed by Russia with 132,300, latest data from the Sri Lanka Development Authority showed.

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, according to the central bank.

‘Things are getting better’: Sri Lanka ready for new tourism wave

Consumer price inflation rate in Sri Lanka eased to 0.8 per cent year on year in September from 2.1 per cent in August, the country’s statistics department said on Monday.

The National Consumer Price Index captures broader retail price inflation and is released with a lag of 21 days every month.

Food prices fell 5.2 per cent in September after declining 5.4 per cent in August, from a year earlier, the Department of Census and Statistics said in a statement.

Prices for non-food items, however, climbed 5.9 per cent in September after rising 9 per cent year on year in August.

Sri Lanka experienced record high inflation after its economy was pummelled by the worst financial crisis in decades.

But since June, its inflation has come down sharply, partly due to the statistical base effect, but also helped by a stronger rupee currency, and improved harvests.

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