Casa Arabe is committed to being a meeting point between Spain and the Arab world
uae5 hours ago
Sri Lanka on Thursday extended the free visa-on-arrival scheme until April 30 for the citizens of 48 countries, including India, tourism minister Prasanna Ranatunga said, as the country tries to revive the tourism sector which was hit by the Easter Sunday bombings.
In April, Sri Lanka suspended its plans to grant visa-on-arrival to citizens of 39 countries after the devastating bombings that killed 258 people.
In July, the island nation added more countries, including India and China after it re-launched the free visa on arrival scheme, which was implemented from August 1.
"We have decided to extend this facility due to requests from the stake holders. A Cabinet paper would be submitted for this purpose," Ranatunga said.
In the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bomb attacks, the $20 visa fee for South Asian travellers and $35 fee applicable to visitors from the rest of the world were waived off.
Tourism, which contributes 5 per cent to the island's GDP, was dealt a severe blow after the Daesh-linked local extremist group National Thawheed Jammath (NTJ) carried out suicide bombings which killed over 260 people at three luxury hotels and three churches on April 21.
Sri Lanka's tourism arrivals had received a boost by early 2019 with over 10 per cent increase in arrivals year on year. The Lonely Planet had by then named Sri Lanka as a top tourist destination in the world.
However, after the Easter Sunday bombings, the industry suffered mass scale cancellations of prior bookings. In May last year the arrivals suffered over a 70 per cent slump.
The tourism industry officials said the arrivals during 2019 were well below the 1.9 million arrivals target.
The first 11 months data for 2019 had showed arrivals had been 1.67 million down by nearly 20 per cent.
The bombings, which targeted three Catholic churches and three posh Colombo hotels, killed over 250 people, including 44 foreigners, and injured over 500, including 37 foreigners. Tourism industry officials said there have been 70 per cent cancellations of prior bookings after the attacks.
The US, China, the UK, India and Australia were among the countries which issued travel warnings on Sri Lanka following the Easter Sunday blasts.
Casa Arabe is committed to being a meeting point between Spain and the Arab world
uae5 hours ago
From stocking up essentials to ensuring safety of vehicles and properties, they take no chances
uae6 hours ago
The UAE face a tricky challenge on Friday in what could be a rain-interrupted qualifying game against Vanuatu
cricket6 hours ago
The daughter of Sheikh Mohammed married Sheikh Mana in a grand ceremony last year
uae6 hours ago
Authorities also apprehended 179 suspects across 196 operations worldwide
crime7 hours ago
The mission titled ICUBE-Q will be launched on board China's Chang'E6 from Hainan
world7 hours ago
Notable Speech and Tarifa lead an army of contenders in major Classic contests at Newmarket, England and Churchill Downs, America
sports7 hours ago
GCSE and A level board exams take place over several weeks in April, May and June for thousands of students across the world
education8 hours ago