Sri Lanka’s tourism sector continues its strong recovery, recording over 61,000 arrivals in the first 10 days of November and bringing the year-to-date (YTD) figure to over 1.68 million. With the busy winter season ahead, the country is on track to reach 1.7 million arrivals in 2024. In early November, Sri Lanka saw 42,148 tourists
Enter Air, the largest private airline operating in Poland, has officially commenced flight services connecting Warsaw to Colombo, Sri Lanka. This new route, which began operations on October 30, will run regularly until the end of March 2025, significantly enhancing travel and tourism links between the two countries. The inaugural flight received a warm welcome
Tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka crossed the 100,000 mark within the first 26 days of September, according to provisional data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). By September 25, the total number of international visitors stood at 99,955, with the milestone being reached last Thursday. The daily average of arrivals for September was
Air China, one of China’s largest airlines, will begin daily flights to Sri Lanka in October 2024, marking a significant boost in air connectivity between the two nations. The announcement was made by former Tourism Minister Harin Fernando on X (formerly Twitter). This expansion follows Air China’s resumption of flights to Sri Lanka in July
Sri Lanka is set to offer a two-week tourist visa at no cost to visitors from 38 selected countries, according to Cabinet spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardena. The new visa policy was approved by the Cabinet and is aimed at making travel easier, similar to Singapore’s visa-on-arrival system. “The Cabinet approved the immediate implementation of
Long queues were observed at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) today as travelers faced delays in obtaining on-arrival visas. The current situation arises because Sri Lanka has not yet reverted to the previous visa approval and issuing system, following the Supreme Court’s order to suspend the VFS-led system. This has led to extended wait times for
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the awarding of contracts to six new companies to operate tourist service counters at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake for the next three years. During the post-Cabinet meeting media briefing, Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardena announced that this decision follows a competitive bidding process conducted by Airport
A new luxury ‘Airport Terminal Shuttle Service’ has been launched from Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) to the Colombo Fort Railway Station and the Multimodal Transport Centre (MMC) in Makumbura. The service was officially inaugurated by Transport and Highways Ministry Secretary Ranjith Rubasinghe, addressing a longstanding issue for travelers at Sri Lanka’s main airport. Previously, foreign
Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved five companies to operate foreign exchange counters at Bandaranaike International Airport, according to Minister Bandula Gunawardana. Following a competitive tender process, the selected firms are Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank, Sampath Bank, Commercial Bank, and Thomas Cook. The franchise agreements will be effective for three years.