Good news for travellers, THIS Indian neighbour extends free visa policy for 40 countries to boost tourism, including India, check full list here

Sri lanka is recovering from a massive economic crisis, and tourism for the island nation is extremely crucial to boost the economic growth. In a major move, Sri Lanka has now extended its free tourist visa policy to 40 additional countries, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said on Friday. The move comes after cabinet approval last week to expand the current list of seven eligible countries to 40. Although the government expects an annual revenue loss of USD 66 million due to the visa fee waiver, Herath said, the indirect economic benefits from increased tourist arrivals would outweigh the loss. “We have stabilised the economy, and through policy changes in tourism, we aim to ensure steady growth in arrivals,” the minister said.

 The Free Visa regime is already in place for nationals of 7 countires, including, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan from March 2023. The countries that are now part of the list of 40 include UK, US, Australia, Pakistan, and many more. 

Full list of countries 

1. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
2. Federal Republic of Germany
3. Kingdom of the Netherlands
4. Kingdom of Belgium
5. Kingdom of Spain
6. Commonwealth of Australia
7. Republic of Poland
8. Republic of Kazakhstan
9. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
10. United Arab Emirates
11. Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
12. People's Republic of China
13. Republic of India
14. Republic of Indonesia
15. Russian Federation
16. Kingdom of Thailand
17. Federation of Malaya
18. Japan
19. Republic of France
20. United States of America
21. Canada
22. Czech Republic (Czechia)
23. Republic of Italy
24. Swiss Confederation (Switzerland)
25. Republic of Austria
26. State of Israel
27. Republic of Belarus
28. Islamic Republic of Iran
29. Kingdom of Sweden
30. Republic of Finland
31. Kingdom of Denmark
32. Republic of Korea
33. State of Qatar
34. Sultanate of Oman
35. Kingdom of Bahrain
36. New Zealand
37. State of Kuwait
38. Kingdom of Norway
39. Republic of Türkiye
40. Pakistan

(with PTI Inputs)