ETA targets Rs. 2,000m in visa fees
The Immigration and Emigration Department has set a targeted income
of Rs. 2,000 million from visa fees under the Electronic Travel
Authority (ETA) scheme.
The Controller General of the Department Chulananda Perera said that
the Government has earned a record income of Rs. 600 million from
January 1, the day the ETA was launched until the third week of March.
“There was much resistance to the scheme at the outset but this trend
has now changed,” he said.
Over 335,050 tourists and other visitors had arrived in Sri Lanka,
under the ETA.
Of them, the majority 19 percent were from India, 12 percent from UK
and 8 percent from Germany, followed by France and the Russian
Federation.
He said, “This is one of the innovative changes effected by the
Immigration and Emigration Department and we are proud of its progress,
”he said. MF
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