Sri Lanka's cabinet approved issuing free tourist visas to visitors from 35 countries including China, India and Russia, a top official said on Thursday, in an effort to boost tourism and help revive its crisis-hit economy. Tourists will be given 30-day visas under a six-month pilot programme that will start from Oct. 1, said Cabinet spokesman and Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardana. "The aim of the government is to transform Sri Lanka into a free visa country, much like Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam to tap into the benefits of a rapidly growing tourism industry," Gunawardana told reporters at a weekly cabinet briefing. The extensive list includes India, China, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Australia, Denmark, Poland, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Nepal, In...
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Five Southern African countries on Friday committed to expanding the use of a special common visa to allow easier movement of tourists as the region seeks to boost arrivals. Officials from Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, countries that make up the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area, pledged in principle to broaden use of the special visa, called a univisa, which allows entry into multiple countries. FILE PHOTO: A ranger walks behind a pair of black rhinoceros at the Imire Rhino and Wildlife Conservation Park near Marondera, east of the capital Harare. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo Five Southern African countries on Friday committed to expanding the use of a special common visa to allow easier movement of tourists as the region seeks to boost arriva...
Read MoreJapan's government is planning to waive tourist visa requirements from some countries as part of a further easing of border controls enacted to stop the spread of COVID-19, Fuji News Network reported on Monday. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may decide as early as this week on the easing, which would also allow individual travellers to visit Japan without travel agency bookings, FNN reported. Japan did not require tourist visas for 68 countries and regions before the pandemic. FILE PHOTO: Thai travelers, from left, Sorrasek Thuantawee, Kantpong Madeecharoenporn and Korranut Nuntanatamon check in for their trip to Osaka and Tokyo, at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Samut Prakarn province, Thailand, Thursday, June 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) The government may scrap a da...
Read MoreThe United Arab Emirates said it will resume issuing tourist visas to vaccinated travellers from Aug. 30, the state news agency (WAM) reported on Saturday. The decision also covered people coming in from countries from which the UAE had previously barred entry, WAM reported. In those cases, visitors would have to take a COVID-19 test on arrival, it added. FILE PHOTO: Passengers keep distance in a line at Dubai International Airport, as Emirates airline resumed limited outbound passenger flights amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Dubai, UAE. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah The move comes amid a drop in coronavirus infections in the oil-rich Gulf country, after it reported less than 1,000 cases per day last week for the first time in months, and a month before Dubai ...
Read MoreSaudi Arabia plans to resume tourist visas by early 2021 after months of suspension amid strict government measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the kingdom’s tourism minister has said. Tourism is a key pillar of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious reform strategy to reduce the economy’s dependence on oil. The kingdom, which opened its doors to foreign tourists in September 2019 by launching a new visa regime for 49 countries, wants the sector to contribute 10% of gross domestic product by 2030. “For tourist visa, until now we are talking about early next year. If things get better or if any positive developments happen with regards to the vaccine, we might accelerate and have it earlier,” Ahmed al-Khateeb said in a virtual interview. In late-Februa...
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