<p>Colombo: Sri Lanka's cabinet approved issuing free tourist visas to visitors from 35 countries including China, India and Russia, a top official said on Thursday, in an effort to boost tourism and help revive its crisis-hit economy.</p>.<p>Tourists will be given 30-day visas under a six-month pilot programme that will start from Oct. 1, said Cabinet spokesman and Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardana.</p>.<p>"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.</p>.<p>The extensive list includes India, China, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Australia, Denmark, Poland, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Nepal, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, and France.</p>.<p>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 that saw mass scale protests and shortages of essentials such as fuel.</p>.<p>But the tourism industry is reaping the benefits of a turnaround that began last year with Sri Lanka clocking nearly 2 million arrivals by mid-August, for the first time since 2019.</p>.<p>The island is expecting to close the year at 2.3 million arrivals.</p>.<p>India is the largest source of tourists with 246,922 arrivals, followed by UK with 123,992, latest data from the Sri Lanka Development Authority showed.</p>.<p>Sri Lanka earned $1.5 billion from tourism in the first six months of 2024, up from $875 million dollars during the same period last year, according to the central bank.</p>
<p>Colombo: Sri Lanka's cabinet approved issuing free tourist visas to visitors from 35 countries including China, India and Russia, a top official said on Thursday, in an effort to boost tourism and help revive its crisis-hit economy.</p>.<p>Tourists will be given 30-day visas under a six-month pilot programme that will start from Oct. 1, said Cabinet spokesman and Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardana.</p>.<p>"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.</p>.<p>The extensive list includes India, China, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Australia, Denmark, Poland, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Nepal, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, and France.</p>.<p>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 that saw mass scale protests and shortages of essentials such as fuel.</p>.<p>But the tourism industry is reaping the benefits of a turnaround that began last year with Sri Lanka clocking nearly 2 million arrivals by mid-August, for the first time since 2019.</p>.<p>The island is expecting to close the year at 2.3 million arrivals.</p>.<p>India is the largest source of tourists with 246,922 arrivals, followed by UK with 123,992, latest data from the Sri Lanka Development Authority showed.</p>.<p>Sri Lanka earned $1.5 billion from tourism in the first six months of 2024, up from $875 million dollars during the same period last year, according to the central bank.</p>