More Foreign Tourists Opting for India’s Visa on Arrival

A good number of foreign travellers taking flights to India are now opting for the Visa on Arrival (VoA) scheme for tourism purposes. The country reported an impressive growth of 90.2 percent in the count of global vacationers availing the facility in August 2012.

In August 2012, a total number of 1750 tourists took advantage of VoAs as compared to 920 VoAs during the month in 2011.

The period of January-August 2012 also saw a rise of 25.3 percent as compared to the same period in 2011. 7,514 VoA were issued to foreign tourists travelling on flights to various destinations in India in 2011, whereas the figure rose to 9412 in 2012. 

India airports ranking for the numbers of Visa on Arrival issued include Delhi on top with 5489, followed by Mumbai with 1981 while 1365 foreign holidaymakers booked flights to Chennai.

Japanese citizens who took flights to the different cities of the country were issued the maximum number of VoAs in the month of August, followed by Philippines and Indonesia.

In a bid to lure more global vacationers to take flights, the Government of India introduced the Visa on Arrival scheme in January 2010. Initially it was offered to nationals of 5 countries - Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore, visiting for tourism purposes. In January 2011, it was extended to tourists from Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Laos and Myanmar.

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India Might Extend Visa-on-Arrival to 10 More Nations

India may very soon offer tourist Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) to nationals of 10 more countries taking flights to the country. The tourism authorities are in the final stages of meetings and consultations to offer tourist VoA to the nations.

It is a common belief that T-VoA adds to the tourism industry of the country offering it as more vacationers get attracted in booking flights. Since the introduction of this service to 11 nations, India has become increasingly popular destination among thousands taking flights to India from these regions.

Indeed, favourable visa on arrival policies for more foreign nationals may spell a boost in the number for foreign holidaymakers on flights to the nation. In fact, it may very well assist Indian Government to realise its target of increasing the international tourist footfall manifold by 2016.

Germany, France and Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) could be among the 10 nations that could be provided VoA facility.

As of now, nationals of 11 countries on India bound flights can enjoy visa on arrival facilities. These countries include Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Singapore, Myanmar, Finland, Luxembourg and New Zealand.

T-VoA is issued for up to 30 days and is restricted for recreation, sightseeing or meeting friends in the country. Also, foreign nationals on India bound flights who choose to get this facility must have a passport with minimum six-month validity and must not have a residence or occupation in the nation.

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