Visa whack

Tuesday, 4 January 2011 00:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Tourism industry yesterday warned of an estimated 20 to 40% drop in arrivals this year if the Government persists with the requirement of a visa for tourists.

The contentious move as well as the warning comes in a year which the Government has boastfully declared as “Visit Sri Lanka.”

“We still remain a last minute destination patronised fairly by the lower segment of the traveller market hence the requirement of a visa to visit Sri Lanka is a serious setback,” Tourist Hotels Association President Anura Lokuhetty said.

“If the new rule is implemented we fear a drop of 30 to 40%,” President of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in Tourism and Hikkaduwa Hoteliers Association Siri de Silva warned whilst Negombo Hoteliers Association Secretary Lal Dissanayake put the drop to between 20 and 30%.

Having surpassed a record 600,000 tourist arrivals in 2010, the industry was preparing for over 700,000 tourists this year. A 40% drop works out to 240,000 from last year’s arrivals.

Leisure industry has been urging the Government to defer the visa rule until 2012 after due notice and conclusion of the Visit Sri Lanka year in 2011.

The Government has decided to impose the requirement of a visa along with a fee on visitors from around 78 countries including traditionally strong markets in Western Europe and second largest South Asia. Only visitors from Singapore and the Maldives which offer visa free travel to Lankans will be excluded from the new rule.

These hotel association leaders pointed out that tour operators are unlikely to hire staff to obtain or coordinate visas from Sri Lanka missions abroad on behalf of their customers. Apart from the hassle it was also pointed out that Sri Lankan missions abroad aren’t capable of handling this new requirement.

With regard to the Government’s move of providing online visas for tourists, industry leaders said that the profile of the majority of visitors to Sri Lanka aren’t internet savvy hence the new rule will certainly put off their holiday plans.

Another concern is that most of the scheduled arrivals until end April winter season had been previously confirmed and requiring them now to obtain a visa has been roundly condemned by the industry.

“Sri Lanka’s competitor destinations such as Thailand, Maldives, Malaysia and Indonesia don’t require visas for tourists,” they added.

Tourism industry sources also said that if the Government’s intention from the visa rule is revenue centric then a tax on arrival can be considered as a last option instead of requiring tourists to queue for visas at Lankan missions in their home countries.