Sri Lanka approves free tourist visas

Sri Lanka's cabinet approved issuing free tourist visas to visitors from 35 countries, including China, India, Russia, UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE and France, a top official said on Thursday.

Tourists will be given 30-day visas under a six-month pilot programme that will start from October 1, said Cabinet spokesman and Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardana. The list also includes Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Australia, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan.

"The aim of the government is to transform Sri Lanka into a free visa country, much like Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam to tap into the benefits of a rapidly growing tourism industry," Gunawardana told reporters at a weekly cabinet briefing.

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 in 2022.