The pilot project of Free Visa to seven countries will be extended until April 30, 2024, Minister of Tourism Harin Fernando announced today.
Taking to ‘X’, the minister said a final decision on the pilot project is to be taken during the next few weeks.
Last week, participating in a session at OTM 2024, which is the leading travel trade show in Asia, Minister Fernando hinted at the possibility of visa extensions.
According to the Press Trust of India (PTI), Minister Fernando said that Sri Lanka was likely to extend visa exemption status for India after March.
The minister said the decision aims to keep attracting travellers from India and encourage repeat visits.
“India is our number one source market and tourists from India helped our country on its path of recovery from the recent crisis we faced,” Minister Fernando said.
Sri Lanka facilitated visa-free entry for Indian travellers from December 2023 to March. “We are working on extending it beyond March. We want to make Sri Lanka an easily accessible destination for Indians, who can just walk into our country for a hassle-free holiday,” he said.
By offering visa exemption to Indians, Sri Lanka will attract more footfalls, especially those who make last-minute plans and find the visa process a hindrance, he said.
“In the time of more options, we have to ease the travel process to encourage more tourists from India and repeat footfalls,” he added. (NewsWire)
