The number of tourist arrivals this month since the introduction of the free visa on arrival programme has been recorded at 34,538, Immigration and Emigration Controller General Pasan Ratnayake said.
Mr. Ratnayake noted that these tourists had visited Sri Lanka from the 48 countries which had been granted free on-arrival visas, with India accounting to a majority of the figures.
According to the Immigration Controller General, more than 7,000 tourists had arrived from India, with UK and China coming in second and third with figures of above 4,000 and 3,000 respectively.
The free on-arrival visa programme had been introduced as a part of the government’s efforts to boost tourist arrivals which faced a huge slump in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terrorist bombings.
Airline charges including ground handling and fuel costs too had been reduced to draw more tourists to the island.
(Reporting by Damith Wickramasekara)
A Thai woman walking topless in Arugam Bay town has been arrested by the Police.
The UK government has unveiled a package of reforms to simplify imports from developing countries which allows for more garments manufactured in Sri Lanka to enter the UK tariff-free.
The Cabinet has approved a proposal for Sri Lankans overseas to apply for their passports through an online system via the Lankan diplomatic missions.
Villagers in Nirmalapura, Daluwa, Norochcholai today staged a protest over an incident where a group of Navy officials and sailors had assaulted a resident in the area over night, Police said.
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