ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka is expecting 250,000 tourists in December 2024 after the new administration ended a visa system Buddhika Hewawasam, Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism Authority and Promotions Bureau said.
Sri Lanka tourism sector was hit by a visa crisis after a new visa portal operated by VFS Global and IVS-GBS made it difficult for tourists to get visas and also started charging high fees, scrapping an online system that was globally acclaimed as perhaps the easiest in the word.
“First, after the September election victory, one of the first initiatives the government took was to abolish this particular visa restriction policies maintained by the previous government,” Hewasam said in a video statement.
“Along with that, we created a kind of very attractive and very peaceful and harmonious environment for tourists to come to this country.”
Sri Lanka has welcomed 70,000 tourists within the first 10 days of December.
Sri Lanka is expecting 250,000 tourists in December he said, which will help reach about 2.2 million tourists.
Sri Lanka was expecting 2.3 million tourist in 2024 before the VFS Global contract was awarded without tender. Courts ordered that the old website be restored after opposition activists filed suit.
Industry analysts have warned that Sri Lanka would not be able to reach the target due to the visa policies. (Colombo/Dec16/2024)
