Reportedly the Sri Lankan cabinet has approved the provision of free tourist visas to people from six countries including India. Amid efforts to rebuild Sri Lanka's debt-ridden tourism industry, Sri Lanka's cabinet has approved the issuance of free tourist visas to visitors from six countries, including india, according to the country's Foreign Affairs minister Ali Sabri.
The government of sri lanka has approved the implementation of this scheme as a pilot project till 31st march 2024. The Sri Lankan government has also said that this plan will come into effect immediately. Accordingly, travelers from india, china, Russia, Malaysia, Japan, indonesia and thailand to sri lanka can visit the country without a visa. Tourists from these countries can get a tourist visa free of charge when they land in Sri Lanka. india is Sri Lanka's primary tourism market. According to september arrival figures, more than 30,000 indians have visited Sri Lanka. With this, india is at the top with the highest number of visits. china is second with 8000 passengers.
In 2019, 270 people, including 11 indians, were killed in a bomb blast during the easter festival in Sri Lanka. More than 500 people were injured. Since then, the number of tourists visiting sri lanka has decreased. In addition, political unrest continues in sri lanka, which is mired in an unprecedented economic crisis since independence. Sri Lanka's economic crisis has caused a severe shortage of essential commodities like food, medicine and cooking gas. people in the country are forced to wait in long queues for hours outside shops to buy fuel and cooking gas.
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