Sri Lankan President's suggestion on BIMSTEC gets thumbs up from former Indian Tourism Secretary

Colombo: Citing the example of the Schengen area, a former top Indian bureaucrat has backed Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe's suggestion on making the BIMSTEC region a "border-less tourism" land, saying the move will help boost tourist footfalls in all member countries of the regional grouping.

Wickremesinghe, during his address at the opening ceremony of the 67th annual convention of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) here, had suggested making the BIMSTEC area a "border-less tourism" region to tap the huge potential offered by the seven-member grouping members.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional grouping that comprises India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.

"The president (of Sri Lanka) made a suggestion during the convention, to make the BIMSTEC area a border-less tourism region, and I think it is a very good idea.

Because, that way people will travel with greater ease and comfort, from one country to another in the region, and this will eventually feed into boosting overall tourist footfalls in the region," former Tourism Secretary of India Arvind Singh told PTI at the sidelines of the convention here from July 6-8.

The theme of the TAAI convention was 'Transcending Borders, Transforming Lives'.

The former union tourism secretary also lauded the hosting of TAAI's annual convention in the capital city Colombo and asserted the event will in turn help increase tourism between India and Sri Lanka, both ways.

"I am very positive that this will help in augmenting the flow of tourism from India to Sri Lanka and vice versa," said Singh, who retired as Tourism Secretary in the Government of India on May 31 this year.

Three Tourism Working Group meetings of the G20 were held under his charge between January-May in three different states in India.

"A foreign tourist having a Schengen visa can travel from one country to another in the Schengen area freely, and so, similarly, if the BIMSTEC region becomes a border-less tourism region, a foreign traveller visiting India will be able to go and see Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Thailand too or the other way around, without any visa-related hassles," Singh said.

Schengen Area signifies a zone where 27 European countries abolished their internal borders, for the free and unrestricted movement of people, in harmony with common rules for controlling external borders and fighting criminality by strengthening the common judicial system and police cooperation.

The Schengen Area covers most of the EU countries, says the website on Schengen visas.

A tourist from a country outside the Schengen Area can travel across the geographical zone holding only one visa -- a Schengen visa (short-stay visa).

Today, the Schengen Area encompasses most European Union countries, except for Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania, according to the official website of the EU.

Even BIMSTEC member countries will be able to travel with greater ease and thus will potentially explore more tourist sites across the region, beyond the home country, Singh added.

The BIMSTEC region is home to around 1.8 billion people, nearly 22 per cent of the global population with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of USD 3.6 trillion, according to the official website of the regional organisation.

The BIMSTEC is a regional organisation that was established on June 6, 1997, with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration.

Initially known as BIST-EC (Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation), the organisation is now known as BIMSTEC and comprises seven member states with the admission of Myanmar on December 22, 1997, and Bhutan and Nepal in February 2004.

Wickremesinghe at the TAAI convention had also spoken about several projects, including seven golf courses and more resorts, planned by his government to help speed up Sri Lanka's recovery from the 2022 economic crisis.

Some laws will be changed to accommodate the plans for the tourism sector, he said.

In April 2022, Sri Lanka declared its first-ever debt default, the worst economic crisis since its independence from Britain in 1948, triggered by forex shortages that sparked public protests.

Months-long street protests led to the ouster of the then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in mid-July last year.

In the next 10 years, the per capita income of people will increase and they will travel around, he said.

"So, why don't we make our whole BIMSTEC area one border-less tourism (region)... that's what you want... transcending borders," the president had said. Sri Lankans travelling to India, Indians travelling to Bangladesh, it's "one tourist area" for anyone coming from outside, the president said.

"In 10 years, you will have a new industry. So, we will have to arrange our connectivity as well," Wickremesinghe said, adding, "My idea is that BIMSTEC should be one big tourist area... Why don't we open BIMSTEC? Why don't we use the Bay of Bengal for a cruise?" The opening ceremony was attended by a host of other dignitaries, including High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Gopal Bagley; Sri Lanka's Minister of Tourism and Lands Harin Fernando; Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Nimal Siripala De Silva; and Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) Chalaka Gajabahu. De Silva too backed Wickremesinghe's idea of having a "borderless tourism area" in the BIMSTEC region.

"He (President) has just suggested an idea. It is something akin to a Schengen zone, but it is now upto to the other member countries of BIMSTEC and the grouping, as to how they take it forward," he told PTI, adding that the step would boost tourism in the BIMSTEC region.