THE Indian government is to reintroduce visas on arrival for foreign nationals almost 25 years after scrapping the system.
It follows years of pressure from Indian tourism officials to ease the visa-issuing process at overseas consulates.
The new system could be introduced as early as next month at India’s four key cities of Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and Chennai, but the charter gateways of Goa and Trivandrum will not initially be part of the scheme.
Indian authorities withdrew visas on arrival 25 years ago on political grounds in line with other Commonwealth countries.
The Indian government is now finalising paperwork for the new system to be implemented as soon as possible.
Single-entry tourist visas currently cost £19, but the charge is expected to be slightly higher for processing on arrival.
Subhash Goyal, president of the Delhi-based Indian Association of Tour Operators, said the Indian government had finally recognised the importance of tourism as a revenue generator.
“We are in the business of competing with other tourist destinations and if Bangkok, for example, can issue visas on arrival for visitors to Thailand, then why can’t India do the same?” he said.
Tourism ranks as the second largest foreign-revenue earner for India with 2.5m visitors a year. The UK contributed the biggest number of European visitors last year with 385,000 people travelling to India.
Manas Pattanaik, assistant director of the Government of India Tourist Office in London, welcomed the new system saying that it could contribute to a growth in last-minute travellers, as the country’s Explore India Millennium Year has also been extended from March to the end of the year.