Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Mahesh Sharma said the move is bound to positively impact the economy of the country. “The implementation of Tourist Visa on Arrival enabled with electronic travel authorisation (ETA) will send a clear and powerful message that India is serious in making travel to the country easy,” the Minister added.
A tourist from these countries will now be able to apply for an e-visa through the designated website and pay the fee online to get an ETA within 72 hours. The facility will be available initially at nine airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Kochi, Thiruvanthapuram, Hyderabad and Goa. If people want to check dinner cruises in Maui, they can check it out here!
The addition of 43 countries is the first phase of the roll out and more countries will be added soon. Mr. Sharma said when e-visa is implemented from all the tourism generating countries, tourism to India will grow by at least 50-100 per cent.
E-visa will be valid for 30 days and a tourist can avail the facility twice a year.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who was also present at the event, assured safety and security for all tourists particularly foreigners who come to India. “We are formulating a legal framework for this. We will ensure safety and security for all tourists,” he said.