The travel and tourism industry has written to President Ranil Wickremesinghe urging swift action to resolve issues over the prior-visa processing system.
The President has been stressed on the need for speedy resolution as a matter of national interest and in the best interest of the entire tourism industry and the national economy in the joint letter sent by the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO), The Hotels Association (THASL), the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in Tourism (ASMET), the Sri Lanka Association of Professional Conference Exhibition & Event Organisers (SLAPCEO), Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance (SLTA) and the Ceylon Hotel School Graduates Association (CHSGA).
The industry decided to write to the President seeking his intervention in resolving the current predicament faced by potential tourists to Sri Lanka who have only one method of obtaining a tourist visa on arrival at the airport, which is not preferred by travellers. Tour operators require that visa authorisation be obtained online prior to travel to reduce uncertainty and liability. Especially in case of group travel, prior visa authorisation is a must.
“Due to the unjustified delay in the Immigration Department facilitating activation of the Mobitel online platform as ordered by the Supreme Court, we have seen several cancellations of groups and individual travellers,” the Associations warned.
They pointed out that with the peak season booking window about to start in two weeks, industry partners overseas have warned that there will be a severe impact on Sri Lanka bookings for this winter.
“With competing destinations offering streamlined processes and zero cost, many potential Sri Lanka bookings are likely to be diverted due to the immigration delay,” the industry emphasised.
The President was reminded that the tourism industry is only just starting to lift its head after several poor years, and it was critical that the next high season is not impaired by the delay in activating the online system.
“Arrival numbers and revenue targets envisaged for the remainder of 2024 will not be achieved due to the present situation,” the letter warned.
The industry said it understands that there’s no technical impediment whatsoever for the Mobitel ETA system to be activated with immediate effect. This fact has been confirmed by Mobitel in a letter to the Department of Immigration and Emigration Controller General dated 7 August 2024 and 13 August 2024 stating its readiness to give effect to the interim order of the Supreme Court.
We understand that Mobitel has made a request to the Controller General to activate several back-end links to enable the ETA system to go online, which has not been done to date,” said the joint industry letter dated 14 August 2024. “Turning on the previous connection link is a very straightforward matter that can happen the same day,” it added.
The letter urges the President to request the Controller General to immediately facilitate the activation of the Mobitel ETA system in the manner set out in the Mobitel Chairman’s letter. (See FT article https://www.ft.lk/top-story/SLT-Mobitel-still-awaiting-action-from-other-stakeholders-to-get-visa-system-online/26-765568)
“This needs to be done as a matter of national interest and in the best interest of the entire tourism industry and the national economy,” the joint industry letter emphasised.
Tourist arrivals in the first 11 days of August were 73,373 whilst the year to date the figure is 1.27 millio
