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A case for a visa-free tourism regime in SL
The Island
|May 13, 2025
Sri Lanka should not have any restrictions for tourist arrivals and a visa-free regime is the need of the hour to woo more visitors, said travel and aviation expert Nihal C.B. Perera.
The founder of a family-owned company in Sri Lanka, Sparklink Travels, Perera said that Sri Lanka should offer the same 'Visa Free facility' initiated by Singapore and now successfully implemented by Thailand.
A former Ceylon Tourist Board, Development and Publicity Director, he said that during his time, they leased or gave several unused state land areas to build hotels. “But we told the investors that the construction has to start in six months, and this happened.”
One such venture was the opening of the Pegasus Reef Hotel at Wattala.
This story is from the May 13, 2025 edition of The Island.
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