Sri Lanka’s tourism drivers welcome the Government’s move to grant free on-arrival visa for tourists of 45 nationalities but protest that the State has failed to give life to the promised extensive campaigns to revive tourism in the country following the deadly Easter Sunday attacks.
Free on-arrival visa will be given to visitors starting August 1 in a bid to tackle the dip in tourist arrivals that overwhelmed the industry following the attacks. Executive Member of Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) Mahen Kariyawasam said this was a ‘good initiative’ that would reflect favourably in reviving tourist arrivals to the country.
“It is not money but the word ‘visa free’ that would have a positive effect,” Kariyawasam said adding that the Association is hopeful that entry tickets to the cultural triangle and wildlife parks would also be discounted subsequently.
Despite Cabinet approval earlier this year for free on-arrival visa to Thailand, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Canada, Singapore, New Zealand, Malaysia, Switzerland and Cambodia, the move was hindered by the organized terrorist attacks on April 21 that selectively targeted tourists at three leading hotels, and three churches. The attacks left 260 dead, and prompted countries to slap travel restrictions on the island.
In its recent move the Government has added Denmark, Sweden. Norway, Finland, Iceland, the Philippines, Russia, China and India into the free on-arrival visa list. Minister of Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs, John Amaratunga told the Sunday Observer the plan is to adopt Singapore’s model of attracting tourists as part of Sri Lanka’s ‘extensive program’ to recover tourism.
“We are working on a platform to receive information regarding the tourist before he or she arrives in Sri Lanka. We will get information such as their criminal records and who they are,” Minister Amaratunga said adding that this information will be obtained from the tourist’s country of origin.
Reflecting on the move SAILTO’s President, Harith Perera said though it is trivial it is a positive move.
Perera said, however, the tourism industry is waiting for other major developments promised by the Government such as, the global PR and advertising campaigns and joint promotions with tour operators. He said these promises are still on paper and not operational. “There seem to be some technical delays in these campaigns even after they were approved by the Cabinet,” Kariyawasam said adding that the tourism industry in the country is disappointed about the technical errors that has plagued the Government’s much anticipated recovery plan.