Sri Lanka has taken a big step in getting tourists back to the country, offering free one-month visas on arrival to citizens from almost 50 countries, including Australia.

According to a cabinet document seen by Travel Weekly, the Sri Lankan government began waiving the tourist visa fee for arrivals from 48 countries from 1 August, and will do so for the next six months.

Check out the list of countries below:

1. Australia
2. Australia
3. Belgium
4. Bulgaria
5. Canada
6. Cambodia
7. China
8. Croatia
9. Cyprus
10. Czech Republic
11. Denmark
12. Estonia
13. Finland
14. France
15. Germany
16. Greece
17. Hungary
18. India
19. Indonesia
20. Iceland
21. Ireland
22. Israel
23. Italy
24. Japan
25. Latvia
26. Lithuania
27. Luxembourg
28. Malaysia
29. Malta
30. Netherlands
31. New Zealand
32. Norway
33. Philippines
34. Poland
35. Portugal
36. Romania
37. Russia
38. Singapore
39. South Korea
40. Slovak Republic
41. Slovenia
42. Spain
43. Sweden
44. Switzerland
45. Thailand
46. Ukraine
47. United Kingdom
48. United States of America

Speaking at a press conference, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the free visa decision is part of a number of measures that the Sri Lankan government has introduced to boost tourism since the deadly Easter Sunday terror attacks, according to Daily FT.

“Many measures have been taken, including free visas on arrival, reduction in taxes to lower room rates, reduction in ground handling charges and fuel charges for airlines at the airport, and the grant of financial moratorium to stakeholders affected in the tourism industry,” he said.

“All these measures will make it easier for travellers, and certainly more profitable for airlines to come in.”

Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka was “on its way back to normalcy”, and that all people involved in the terror attacks were in custody, Daily FT reported.

“We would now like to promote Sri Lanka as a destination which is safe for people to visit,” he said.

The Sri Lanka Convention Bureau is also gearing up to showcase the best of what the country has to offer Australian MICE professionals with a unique new roadshow series. You can find out more about this here.