The leading tourism sector associations have reportedly notified the Controller General (CG) of Immigration that he has only partially complied with an August 2 Supreme Court (SC) interim order related to the controversial new e-visa mechanism. They also indicated that they would report this to the SC.
These associations further informed the CG of Immigration that, in addition to any other contempt proceedings they may decide to institute against him, they expect compliance with the court order.
The Sunday Times reported that 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 & Event Organisers, the Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance, and the Ceylon Hotel School Graduates Association have notified the CG that his “undue delay, directly occasioned by you, as well as other respondents, is resulting in tourism bookings being directed to other destinations, to the severe detriment of Sri Lanka, and the destruction of Sri Lanka’s legitimate need to solicit as many tourists as possible and to augment its foreign reserves.”
The SC suspended the contract that allowed a tripartite foreign consortium to process Sri Lankan online visas. However, the department failed to revert to the previous electronic travel authorisation (ETA) system. As a result, Sri Lanka’s online visa issuance is now in an uncertain state.
According to the Sunday Times, the department had notified the Foreign Ministry that tourists and business visas could be issued through Sri Lanka’s overseas missions until the issues related to online visa issuance were resolved. However, this facility is no longer available. Therefore, on-arrival tourist and business visas are currently the only option for travelers to Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, several Sri Lankan foreign missions officially complained this week, stating they are receiving inquiries and in-person requests but are unable to process them.
Sri Lanka’s High Commission in London reportedly wrote to President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office, stating that it was in an embarrassing position and that the diaspora “have already expressed concerns in this regard, particularly highlighting this as an effort to prevent them from visiting the country at the time of elections.”
Prior to April 16 of this year, SLTMobitel operated the ETA system for two categories of visas. However, Public Security Minister Tiran Alles and Controller General Harsha Ilukpitiya stated they could not revert to that system as regulations were promulgated in November last year, raising the number of visa categories to nearly 20.
