The Minister is said to have sought such an arrangement as a means of boosting tourist arrivals to the country and told the Daily Mirror that he had originally sought approval only for Thai nationals, but his cabinet colleagues including President Maithripala Sirisena wanted it extended to other countries as well.

He said it would be initially implemented for a trial period.“Depending on its success, we will decide whether to further extend this facility,” he said and added that his ministry had a projected target of three million tourist arrivals this year.