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In the country’s attempt to stay afloat after the disastrous mismanagement of the economy that caused Sri Lanka to declare itself bankrupt the tourism sector is a key factor. Together with the foreign exchange that is received from the remittances from overseas Sri Lankans including migrant workers the booming Tourism industry has proved to be a lifeline to a country that has been struggling to provide the bare necessities to its citizens.

Thankfully the Tourism Sector is doing well and the Government has set itself a target of two million visitors to the country in 2024. When the Industry is functioning smoothly and without any major challenges it is baffling why the Government took a decision to hand over on arrival visa processing at the Katunayake International Airport to a private foreign company. The decision has had an immediate impact on the tourism sector and has raised alarm bells among stakeholders.  

The whole issue came to the spotlight last week with social media posts of an enraged Sri Lankan at the Katunayake International Airport creating a rumpus over denial of a visa for his wife. As a result of media spotlight as well as tourism stakeholder concerns information unknown to the public has come to light.

According to media reports a new system for issuing on arrival visas had been operation since April 17, 2024. The award of the contract for issuing on-arrival visas at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) had been taken over by a foreign consortium including VFS Global as the key technology partner. VFS had taken over the task which had previously been handled by the officers of the Sri Lankan Immigration and Emmigration satisfactorily and without any complaints.

There have been no clear answers from the Government as to why a process which had been handled without any glitches by Government officials was handed over to a foreign company for no ostensible reason.

The handing over of the process of issuing the on arrival visa to the VFS is also mired in further controversy since it has been done without following due tender process.

Additionally, the foreign Consortium has been awarded the contract despite Sri Lanka Mobitel having developed a system to implement the programme at a lower rate.

Public Security Minister Tiran Alles, in response to allegations about the failure to call for tenders , said there was no requirement to call for tenders because VFS was the only company involved in e-visa processing in different countries and that Cabinet approval had been obtained for handing over the process to VFS.

However there is also no clarity whether VFS will only handle the process of receiving documents or whether the decision to grant a visa or not is also to be made by them. In countries where VFS handles visa processing they only accept the documentation while the decision whether to grant a visa or not is made by the Government of the receiving country.

Tourism Industry stakeholders have also pointed out that the new system results in an increase in visa fees. Standard tourist visa fees which had been increased to dollars 75 for non-SAARC countries would now cost 100 dollars per person due to the processing fees to be charged by VFS.

According to the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO), Sri Lanka now has the highest visa fees in the region “This is hard to comprehend, especially when over 25 per cent of the cost is attributed to fees charged by an international issuing company, which does not benefit the tourists or the country “ said SLAITO sources.

According to SLAITO, the industry was kept in the dark until the new visa system came into operation on April 17.

The decision by the Government to hand over a smooth operation that has been previously well handled by the Department of Immigration and Emmigration to a foreign Company for no clear reason has not surprisingly raised eyebrows and allegations as to why it has been done.

However the tourism sector is too important for the country at this moment to be trifled with. One hopes saner counsel will prevail and remedial action will be taken. Otherwise the country should not be sadled with the consequences of poor decision making like in the case of the overnight decision to switch to organic fertilizer by the former President. (javidyusuf@gmail.com)