International Tourist Arrivals on e-Visa records 893% growth during Jan-Aug 2015
Since the government rolled out Tourist Visa on Arrival (TVoA) scheme on November 27, 2014, India has witnessed an upsurge in international tourists arriving on e-Tourist Visa. During January-August 2015, the number of international arrivals has recorded a staggering growth. India attracted nearly 1.7 lakh international tourists, up 892.9% from 17,120 during the same period in 2014. “This high growth may be attributed to introduction of e-Tourist Visa for 113 countries as against coverage of earlier TVoA scheme for 12 countries,” said the Ministry of Tourism in a statement. Last month, 22,286 tourists travelled to India on e-Visa as compared to 2,705 during the same period last year. It registered a growth of 723.9% over August 2014. For August 2015, the US had the highest share of travelers availing e-Tourist Visa facility at 25.93%, followed by Germany 10.00%, UAE 8.92%, France 8.76%, Australia 7.20% and Canada 6.39%. Among the airports, Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi recorded the maximum traffic, accounting for 42.67% of the tourists arriving on e-Visa, followed by Mumbai 23.40%, Bengaluru 10.37%, Chennai 9.07%, Kochi 5.44%, Hyderabad 4.21% and Kolkata 2.38%. Under e-Tourist Visa scheme, India’s 16 major international airports, including 7 added on August 15, 2015, are allowed to receive passengers travelling on e-Visa. The other international airports that can accept e-visa arrivals are Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Amritsar, Gaya, Lucknow and Trichy. Initially the online visa facility was rolled out for the nationals of 43 countries, which was later extended to 31 more countries in June this year. Now the facility is available for citizens of 113 countries, including China.
September 12, 2015 | 1:30pm IST.
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