Sri Lanka will offer visa-free access to 35 countries, including the UAE, from October 1, as per Harin Fernando, advisor to the Sri Lankan Ministry of Tourism.
The list of countries includes the UAE and 34 other nations. Here is a list of the other nations:
- United Kingdom
- Germany
- Netherlands
- Belgium
- Spain
- Australia
- Denmark
- Poland
- Kazakhstan
- Saudi Arabia
- UAE
- Nepal
- China
- India
- Indonesia
- Russia
- Thailand
- Malaysia
- Japan
- France
- United States
- Canada
- Czech Republic
- Italy
- Switzerland
- Austria
- Israel
- Belarus
- Iran
- Sweden
- South Korea
- Qatar
- Oman
- Bahrain
- New Zealand
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry expressed his enthusiasm for the move, describing it as a significant step towards a visa-free system. In a post on X, he announced, “First steps towards a visa-free regime!”
Sabry then shared data from the Sri Lankan Tourism Authority in a subsequent post, which indicated a resurgence in tourism. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism numbers showed 2,333,796 visitors in 2018 and 1,913,702 in 2019. These figures declined during the pandemic years.
However, recent data suggests a rebound in tourism, with 1,487,303 visitors in 2023 and 1,315,884 so far in 2024. Sabry voiced his optimism about the nation’s potential to return to pre-COVID tourism levels by stating, “We are well on course to achieve the pre-COVID level. Sri Lanka will!”
