Sri Lanka cuts tourist visa fee

Tourism operators in Sri Lanka heaved a sigh of relief after the government reduced a 50 U.S. dollar visa fee to 20 dollars, an official said here on Monday. The scheme, scheduled to be in effect from January 2012, will now charge 10 U.S. dollars from South Asian travelers and 20 U.S. dollars from others. The move comes after Sri Lanka's neighbor India protested the 50 U.S. dollar fee as being too excessive and warned that it would severely impact tourism, which has hit an all-time high of nearly 670,000 arrivals. Sri Lanka hopes to attract 2.5 million tourists by 2016. Tourist Hotels Association President Anura Lokuhetty stated that the reduced visa fee was encouraging news for the industry. "The initial 50 U.S. dollar would have had a definite impact on arrivals to the country. It would have surely slowed down the numbers," Lokuhetty said. "I still think it is not the correct amount to compete with countries like Thailand and Malaysia. We must offer an attractive, cost effective product," he said.