The Hindu Business Line : SAARC tourism meet to take up `one visa' issue

Senior tourism officials of the seven-member states forming the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) are to meet in Colombo towards the end of May to consider the possibility of issuing one visa that would be valid for travel within the region.

"The two-day first SAARC tourism officials conference begins in Colombo on May 27 and is to consider the issue of one visa for the entire region. It is a tricky issue, but the meeting is likely to take a positive view on this," the Sri Lankan Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Dr Prathap Ramanujam, told Business Line.

The SAARC grouping includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan.

The Sri Lankan official added that the idea was to have a European Schengen-type visa, which allows the holder to travel through several countries in Europe. At present, a passenger wanting to travel between the seven countries has to apply for an individual visa from almost each of the countries before being allowed entry.

Meanwhile, the arrival of the two private sector airlines Jet Airways and Air Sahara on the India-Sri Lanka route mayo see a doubling of Indians travelling to the island nation.

"The arrival of Jet and Sahara in Sri Lanka earlier this week has led to a near doubling of weekly flights between the two countries from 55 to 97. Therefore, we expect to see a doubling of Indians arriving in Colombo also," Dr Ramanujam added.

Sri Lankan officials are hoping that the arrival of the two Indian private sector airlines will help the country receive more passengers from non-metro cities in India.

Besides, to further create awareness about Sri Lanka in India, funds being spent on promotions have been increased three times. "Promotion campaigning is in high gear. While last year we spent about Rs 5 lakh in promotional campaigns, this year we have already spent about Rs 20 lakh during the first three months alone," Dr Ramanujam said.