The Government of India has launched e-visa facility for 43 countries including including US, Israel, Palestine and Japan to boost tourism sector and a convenient travel to the foreigners. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, along with union Culture and Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma launched the Tourist Visa on Arrival (TVOA) service enabled with electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme here. “India has a unique advantage in tourism sector owing to its geographical location and that no other country offers such abundance of diversity in weather conditions,” said Singh. Sharma stressed that India has a long history of rich cultural heritage and what tourists want from India is “safety, cleanliness and hospitality”.
According to officials, 75 TVOA counters will be placed at nine international airports to facilitate smooth transaction. P.K.Bhardwaj, joint director, immigration department said that checking of tourists’ background will be done from an already created database and these TVOA counters will act as a first stage of personal interaction of tourists with the authority. Subhash Goyal, president of Indian Association of Tour Operators, assured the tourism ministry that they do “every possible thing to translate this vision into success”.
