Rattled by the visa chaos, Sri Lanka’s tourist operators take to the streets against red tape
The introduction of a new and complex visa system is forcing tourists at Colombo airport to wait two and a half hours before they can enter the country. With a petition to the Supreme Court and an imminent strike, operators are calling for a return to the old online system, stressing that too much red tape risks compromising the season and the post-pandemic economic recovery.
Colombo (AsiaNews) – The new and cumbersome visa processing system, which has caused confusion among tourists, has prompted Sri Lanka’s tourist operators to file a lawsuit with the Supreme Court, seeking redress and take to the streets this week against excessive red tape.
Currently, tourists have to spend about two and a half hours upon arrival at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Colombo. There is no online platform that allows visitors to get a visa to enter the country and this is causing chaos and congestion.
Nishad Wijetunga, president of the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO), expects fewer arrivals than anticipated, this despite optimistic forecasts from the Sri Lanka Tourism Authority (SLTDA).
“We are vehemently opposed to the iron wall of bureaucracy the all-powerful Sri Lankan Immigration Controller Harsha Ilukpitiya was holding out,” going against government directives, Mr Wijetunga said at a press briefing in Colombo last week.
Without assistance from the authorities to ease the confusion, the tourism sector groups decided to take action, challenging the new procedure for issuing tourist visas introduced without notice in April 2024.
Petitions on the grounds of fundamental rights (case no. SCFR 218/2024) have been filed by the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators, the Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in Tourism, the Sri Lanka Association of Professional Conference Exhibition Organizers, the Ceylon Hotel School Graduates Association and Tourism Alliance, along with the Travel Agents Association of Sri Lanka.
An interim order was issued to the Comptroller of Immigration to temporarily suspend the new VFS Global system and return to the previous system, but, citing technical and logistical problems, he has not yet implemented the previous online visa system made by Mobitel.
"We can't have the entire winter season shut down by one person,” lamented Hiran Cooray, Jetwing president and veteran hotelier.
This issue is having a devastating impact on the sector, which was waiting for "good winter arrivals"; as a result, the country is losing tourists and is unable to meet its planned targets.
Several leading stakeholders in the sector spoke to AsiaNews about the problem, expressing strong opposition to the "iron wall of bureaucracy".
"In 2019 we were stranded due to the Easter Sunday attacks, then [came] COVID-19, followed by an economic crisis with several hours of power outage, [and] long queues for cooking gas and fuel,” said Mayantha Dabare, Navin Sedara, Dunesh Tennakoon, and Nalinda Gamage.
Eventually, “tourists started arriving, bringing in much foreign exchange, but we have not been able to recover fully. The winter season is currently starting, yet tourist arrivals are down, even though free visas will be issued to 38 countries," they explained.
Tourists are forced to spend hours and hours at Colombo’s a Bandaranaike International Airport, to no avail.
The visa crisis was caused by the VFS Global system, which was authorised to issue visas on their online platforms. But “The visa process has created confusion among tourists and tour operators," the four noted.
Several countries with high traffic, such as France, the United Kingdom, and Australia, have expressed concern. “The industry too is concerned. If this is picked up by travel advisories of these countries, it could significantly impact on arrivals.”
Despite numerous discussions with the authorities regarding this cumbersome visa processing system, no remedy has been found to date. “For this reason, we decided to take to the streets to voice our opinion," they said.
Tourism sector groups have gone to the Supreme Court because "the previous online visa system, as directed by the Court, is not being implemented.”
.png)
12/02/2024 13:34
07/05/2024 15:44
