India intends to Extend Electronic Visas to 36 Countries Including Egypt

India plans to make its electronic visas available to the citizens of another 36 countries, after its online service led to a steep rise in foreign tourist arrivals.

The Tourism Ministry wants to extend the e-tourist visa to include Italy, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and the Maldives, among others, an official at the ministry, said.

“We have sent the proposal to the Home Ministry for approval. There is no timeline by when it will be approved,” said the official, who didn’t want to be identified as the information wasn’t public.

Currently, India offers the e-tourist visa to travelers from 150 countries, and the proposed additions would take up the total number to 186, the official said.

Under the e-tourist visa program, prospective visitors can apply and pay for an Indian visa online. Once approved, applicants are issued an email that authorizes them to travel to the country.

Data from the Tourism Ministry shows e-tourist visa arrivals rose by a whopping 274% to 471,909 in the first six months of 2016 from a year earlier. In June alone, it rose around 138% to 36,982.

The e-tourist visa facility was most popular with tourists from the U.S. and the U.K., which accounted for 23.22% and 14.16% of the total footfalls in June.

The majority of travelers using the e-tourist visa landed at New Delhi’s international airport that month, accounting for 42.15% of total arrivals, followed by financial hub Mumbai and IT city Bangalore, which accounted for 22.94% and 9.95%, respectively.

Source: WSJ