New Delhi: India will provide visa on arrival (VoA) to visitors from 150 countries – a sharp rise from the 43 countries now, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced on Saturday.
“Last year VoA was issued to 43 countries. As tourism in the country has increased, I propose to increase the countries covered under this to 150,” Jaitley said while presenting the Union Budget 2015-16 proposals in the Lok Sabha.
The government had eased Indian tourism visa regime through the expansion of VoA enabled by Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) and extended this facility to tourists from countries like the US, Israel, Palestine and Japan to boost tourism sector.
This hassle-free process has given a fillip to Indian tourism. In the month of January, a total of 25,023 tourists arrived by availing VoA as compared to 1,903 last year, registering a growth of whooping 1,214.9 per cent.
The tourists are allowed to enter and depart from nine international airports – Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram. (IANS)
