Sri Lanka will offer free visa access to 35 countries, including India, starting October 1. The announcement was made by Harin Fernando, advisor to the Sri Lankan Ministry of Tourism, as reported by the Sri Lanka-based Daily Mirror.
The list of countries benefiting from Sri Lanka's free visa access includes 34 nations in addition to India. Notable countries on the list are the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Israel, New Zealand, Nepal, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, and Australia.
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Ali Sabry appreciated the development and called it the first step towards a visa-free regime.
Pre-Covid tourism figures for Sri Lanka were 2,333,796 in 2018 and 1,913,702 in 2019, with a significant decline during the pandemic years. Recent data indicates a resurgence, with tourism numbers reaching 1,487,303 in 2023 and 1,315,884 so far in 2024. The Sri Lankan Foreign Minister has expressed optimism that the island nation will return to its pre-Covid tourism levels.
Sri Lanka will hold a presidential election on September 21. Ranil Wickremesinghe, who assumed office as the eighth President of Sri Lanka in July 2022 following the resignation of then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, will be seeking re-election.