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Sri Lanka offers visa-free travel to Indonesian tourists
Indonesian visitors will only be required to fill in a form and submit it through the immigration counter at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, Sri Lanka, in order to freely visit the country for 30 days.
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The decorative red-and-white facade of Jamiul Alfar Mosque, built in 1908, in the heart of the bazaar of Pettah, one of the oldest districts in Colombo, Sri Lanka is seen on Nov. 28, 2016. (Shutterstock/Athikhom Saengchai)
T
he Sri Lanka government has implemented a visa-free policy for Indonesian travelers as well as citizens of 47 other countries starting Aug. 1.
As reported by Antara news agency, Indonesian visitors will only be required to fill in a form and submit it through the immigration counter at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, Sri Lanka, in order to freely visit the country for 30 days.
However to avoid long queues, the Sri Lanka Embassy in Jakarta advises travelers to submit their visa-free forms online prior to departure. They are then only required to print the visa-free approval letter sent by the embassy and show it at the immigration counter.
Read also: 48 hours in Negombo, Sri Lanka
The visa-free policy is valid for six months, according to Sri Lanka Tourism Development Minister John Amaratunga in a statement.
Sri Lanka is home to many historical heritage sites recognized by UNESCO, such as the ancient cities of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Kandy and the Galle Dutch Fortress; as well as gorgeous beaches, a green landscape of tea plantations and waterfalls.
In 2018, the country welcomed up to 2.33 million foreign tourists. However following the deadly Easter attacks earlier this year that devastated three luxury hotels and three Christian churches and killed 253 people, the country's Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera stated in April that its foreign tourist arrivals could drop by 30 percent, with foreign exchange losses of $1.5 billion this year. (kes)
