Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2023-10-23

Implementation of short term strategies for the promotion of Tourism Industry

- Many Asian tourist destinations have entered into a tough competition to regain the tourism market share diminished in the wake of Covid‑19 pandemic and many countries are taking measures to grant visas to tourists free of charge. Therefore, several new tourism promotion programmes have been planned to implement for the revival of the tourism industry of Sri Lanka, which experienced a setback owing to the Easter Sunday attack, the Covid‑19 pandemic and the subsequent severe economic downturn. Accordingly, with the objective of increasing the number of tourists visiting Sri Lanka to 05 million during the next 03 years, the Cabinet approved the following proposals jointly submitted by the Hon. Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism and Lands, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Public Security.

i. immediate implementation of a programme to issue free visa for the tourists from China, India, Russia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan for the period up to 2024‑03‑31, as a pilot project.

ii. Providing the opportunity for tourists to purchase a one-time ticket package at the airport or through online platforms for all locations where fees are levied, enabling them to access the world heritage sites seamlessly and unobstructedly.

iii. Providing the opportunity to purchase tickets for tourist compartments of the Sri Lanka Railways via online platforms or at the airport itself as a unified ticket.