On-arrival visa fee permitted in 5 currencies at Colombo airport
View(s):Tourists seeking an on-arrival visa at the Bandaranaike International Airport can now pay the visa fee in five popular foreign currencies instead of only in US dollars earlier, the Ministry of Tourism Development and Christian Affairs announced on Wednesay. It didn’t say what the other currencies were but the most frequently used currencies in hotels and other places permitted to accept foreign cash are the Sterling Pound, Euro, Swiss Franc among others. There were numerous requests from tourists to enable them to pay the visa fee in their currencies as paying in US dollars was a hassle since they had to exchange their currencies to carry out the payment.
This gave somewhat of a negative first impression to tourists at the entry point to the country. We took note of these requests and brought it to the attention of the Controller of Immigration and Emigration, who has now provided a solution,” said Minister of Tourism Development John Amaratunga in a media statement issued by the ministry. He said a majority of the tourists are from countries that do not use US dollars. This is a small but positive step in ironing out the little issues that tend to cause unnecessary hassle to tourists, he added.
Referring to news reports that the Dambulla Raja Maha Viharaya had decided to do away with the practice of charging entrance fees from tourists, the Minister said this was a step in the right direction. “I hope that the other leading temples will take a cue from this commendable act of the Dambulla Raja Maha Viharaya and follow suit. This benevolent act of the Dambulla Raja Maha Viharaya will no doubt help to promote and propagate Buddhism among Western tourists.
We have been informed that some temples charge high entrance fees without offering any facilities. Such experiences often leave a negative impression,” he said. “The aim of the Tourism Ministry is to ensure that every tourist who visits Sri Lanka for the first time returns to the country. We are currently looking at issues at various levels and resolving them so as to increase the number of return tourists,” he added.