Free Visa to Sri Lanka for Visitors from 39 countries

April 20, 2019 cslbc SRI LANKA 0

Visa on Arrival

I’m a big fan of countries eliminating barriers to entry, whether that comes in the form of removing the hassle or cost associated with visiting. Over the past few months we’ve seen quite a few countries shake up their visa requirements, both for better and worse.

It looks like the latest country to adopt a friendlier policy for visitors is Sri Lanka. I’ve been to Sri Lanka many times, and as a visitor with a US and German passport, I’ve long had to either pay for a visa on arrival, or apply for an electronic visa in advance, at the cost of 35USD.

Sri Lanka’s Tourism Development Minister John Amaratunga has said that the country will introduce free entry for visitors from multiple countries as of May 1, 2019. At least that’s being reported by Sri Lankan media, so you’ll still want to check Sri Lanka’s official immigration page closer to the date it’s implemented to make sure they actually follow through with this plan.

This is intended to boost tourism arrivals during the quieter months.

As the minister explained:

“We will start granting a six-month free visa period from 1 May for selected countries during our lean period to boost tourist arrivals.

As the next step of this program, we are planning on setting up a permanent system at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) to issue visa on-arrival, like in many other countries. We believe this would be a major breakthrough in attracting more visitors from this year.”

With this policy, free entry will be granted to those from all EU countries, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Furthermore, they hope to extend this to all SAARC countries and China.

Initially this will just be introduced as a six month trial to see the impact it has on tourism, though it has the potential to be extended.

Sri Lanka hopes to attract over three million tourists this year.

FREE VISA TO SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka targets 100,000 tourists a month in 2022

Wednesday December 8, 2021

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka is expecting to attract about 100,000 tourists a month in 2022, or about half the 2018 level, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority chief Kimarli Fernando said.

Sri Lanka welcomed the highest ever number of tourists in 2018 with 2.3 million arrivals and it dipped to 1.9 million following the Easter Sunday bombings.

In October, Sri Lanka has welcomed 21,000 arrivals in October and it had already doubled to 40,000 by November which is part of the traditional winter peak season.

“In comparison, in 2018 we had 200,000 tourists every month,” Fernando said. “So even if we target 100,000 which is 50 percent less, then we have done well,”

“Also we must not forget that there is a large market in India. The airlines too have increased to Sri Lanka from India and I believe they don’t do charity.”

Sri Lanka has a very successful vaccination drive, and the country is open for tourism with a level of security, she said.

A number of airlines had already resumed flights to Sri Lanka. (Colombo/Dec07/2021)

Sri Lanka tourists hotels asked to take payments only in foreign exchange

Saturday January 22, 2022.

ECONOMYNEXT – Tourists visiting Sri Lanka are encouraged to pay hotels in foreign currency instead of converting money into rupees at the kerb market as the country is facing foreign exchange shortages due to liquidity injections.

The central bank said that registered hotels would be mandated to collect payments from tourists only in foreign exchange.

“We would ask the foreigners to pay either in credit card or at the time of the check out they would be paying in their currency of a foreign nation,” Central Bank Govenror Nivard Cabral said after raising rates 50 basis points, which would go some way into reducing money printing and forex shortages.

“If they encash, then they will have to do it at an authorized dealer, and show that receipt it was encashed by a certified dealer for that value.”

Tourist hotels in turn are expected to deposit the dollars in banks within two or three days.

Hotels typically pay a lower rate to tourists than commercial banks. Commercial banks are now expected to maintain a 200 to the US dollar peg, which has been weakened due to open market operations to keep rates down.

In the kerb market the dollars is around 240 to the US dollar.

After Sri Lanka opened for tourism, for the first time in 20 months it received 80,000 tourists in December 2021 compared to around 200,000 a month pre-pandemic.

So far in January around 45,000 tourists, mostly Russians have come to the country. (Colombo/Jan22/2022)

No PCR tests for Sri Lanka bound travelers from March 01, 2022

Monday February 28, 2022.

ECONOMYNEXT : State-run SriLankan Airlines said it will board fully vaccinated travelers bound for Sri Lanka from March 01, without a Coronavirus PCR test if they are fully vaccinated under the latest health regulation relaxation of the Indian Ocean tourist paradise.

“Fully vaccinated travellers are considered as those who are above the age of 18 years and have completed the recommended dosage of a given type of COVID-19 vaccine at least two weeks before their scheduled date of departure to Sri Lanka,” the airline said in a statement.

“Children who are 18 years of age or younger and have received at least a single dose of a recognized vaccine two weeks before the date of departure are also considered as fully vaccinated.

“However, passengers who do not meet this criterion, are still required to produce a negative COVID-19 test report before departure.”

The removal of the requirement for a PCR or rapid antigen test before departure makes travel to Sri Lanka easier at a time when international travel is perceived as an inconvenience, the airline said.

Sri Lanka is trying to boost tourism to help the economy which however is hit by a large budget deficit and money printed to keep interest rates artificially low, which has triggered forex shortages.

Sri Lanka said it had earned 268 million US dollars in tourism revenues in January 2022. (Colombo/Feb28/2022)

CODE OF CONDUCT GUIDELINES – CSLBC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ CODE OF CONDUCT GUIDELINES

The board of directors of the Canada-Sri Lanka Business Council (hereinafter called the “Council”) shall maintain the highest standard of conduct; act with fairness, integrity and dignity and in a manner not detrimental to the interests of the Council. A ‘director’ shall not violate any by-laws of the Constitution, in the performance of their duties. As directors of the Council they agree to abide by this code.

The board of directors of the Council shall:

Serve the Council faithfully, respecting confidentiality, and avoiding conflicts of interest and activities for personal gain at the expense of the Council or its Members;
Advise the Council concerning any contemplated actions or decisions which they know to be illegal or unethical, and shall further advise of the possible consequences of proceeding such actions or decisions;
Serve all members of the Council impartially, provide no special privilege to any individual member, and accept no personal compensation from a member for providing advocacy;
Advise the board of any member who may have committed an act in contravention of the Constitution governing the Council;
Directors’ shall not engage in, or condone behavior which causes unnecessary mental, physical distress or loss of dignity, privacy to their fellow members on the board of directors;
Directors’ are expected to meet the highest standards of personal integrity and shall avoid the abuse of their status with the general membership;
Directors’ shall discharge fiduciary obligations and comply with and be accountable to the laws of the land, province and municipality acting in a manner that justifies the trust of the membership and strengthen the Council in the eyes of the public;
Directors shall not work in contravention of the Mission Objectives of the Council and as an extension, the by-laws and constitution of the Council;
Directors’ shall not hold parallel positions on the board of other business councils, trade chambers or any other group that promotes bilateral trade, investment, industrial development and technology transfer between Canada and Sri Lanka;
The CODE serves to enhance public confidence in the integrity and service of Council directors. Adherence to this Code is imperative to serve on the board of directors of the Council. The board shall interpret and enforce the Code in the manner set out in the Council’s formal discipline process.

-THE END-

THE ABOVE CODE OF CONDUCT GUIDELINES WERE APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND RATIFIED BY UNANIMOUS ASSENT BY THE GENERAL MEMBERSHIP IN 2008 AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. THESE GUIDELINES ARE INCORPORATED AS BY-LAWS IN THE CONSTITUTION OF CANADA-SRI LANKA BUSINESS COUNCIL. IT WAS ALSO DECIDED TO INCORPORATE THIS POLICY IN THE MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT.

YEAR 2008

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