In a swift turnaround, the Sri Lankan cabinet, responding to mounting pressure from the travel and tourism sector, has rescinded its decision to double the fee for tourist visas. The initial proposal to raise the fee from $50 to $100 was met with strong opposition from industry professionals.
The decision to maintain the previous fee structure was accompanied by another significant reversal: the government opted to keep the Immigration and Emigration Department responsible for visa processing and facilitation, retracting the earlier plan to engage VFS Global, an international visa facilitation company.
The implementation of the increased fee, which included a $25 service charge by VFS Global, took effect on April 17, despite warnings from industry insiders about potential negative effects on tourist arrivals. The situation reached a critical point on April 30 when long queues formed at Bandaranaike International Airport due to system malfunctions.
Several industry bodies, including the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators, the Travel Agents Association of Sri Lanka, and others, had jointly appealed to the government to restore a user-friendly visa process, similar to the previous ETA system, to sustain the positive trajectory of tourism recovery.
Amid escalating tensions between the government and industry stakeholders regarding the new visa fee and its implementation, Tourism Minister Harin Fernando clarified that the changes were not instigated by his ministry but by the Minister of National Security, Tiran Alles.
Expressing his personal stance on the matter, Fernando stated, “My view is that we should do away with visas altogether for tourists. Travelling should be as simple as getting off the plane and going out.”