With over 41,000 foreign tourists availing the online visa facility in just less than two months since its launch for 43 countries, the Centre is hopeful of extending the facility to all the nations in the near future.
This was stated by Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma at an “Interaction between Tourism and Airlines” organized by the Tourism and Civil Aviation Ministries in association with Federation of Association in Indian Tourism and Hospitality in the capital. Electronic Travel Authorization was launched in early December for travelers to apply for the India Visa so that they can save their time of going to the embassy and standing in long queues.
Sharma also pointed out that Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) during 2014 were 74.62 lakh with a growth of 7.1 per cent as compared to the FTAs of 69.68 lakh in 2013. The Ministry has target to to increase the tourist arrivals to 10 million in near future.
With 90 per cent of international tourists arriving by air, Sharma, who holds the portfolio of Civil Aviation Ministry said the airlines is an important part of the supply chain for “Make in India” in tourism arena and problems concerning both the sectors will be addressed in a set time frame.