Number of tourists opting for ‘visa on arrival’ up

The number of international tourists who opted for visa on arrival (VoAs) to enter the country grew by 16.4 per cent in the first six months of this year. According to the Ministry of Tourism, a total of 6,721 VoAs were issued as compared to 5,774 during the corresponding period of 2011. Tourists from Japan, New Zealand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore led those who used this facility.

During the period January-June 2012, the maximum number of VoAs was issued at the Delhi airport, followed by Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. As a facilitative measure to attract more foreign tourists, the Government launched the VoA scheme from January 2010 for citizens of five countries — Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore. This was further extended to six countries — Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Laos and Myanmar from January 2011.

Sourced: thehindubusinessline