Tourism boards propose single visa for ASEAN countries

As much as 80% of Indian tourists to Asean countries were limited to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand

Tourism boards of South East Asian countries have mooted a single common visa to boost tourist arrivals from India.

“South East Asia has always been an attractive destination for Indian visitors. In fact, India has been consistently been one of the top 10 source markets to this region. Last year we has over 102 million visitors to ASEAN countries and over 3 million were from India,” said Manoharan Periasamy, chairman of ASEAN Promotional Chapter for Tourism.


ASEAN stands for Association of South East Asian Nations and tourism boards are planning to celebrate Visit ASEAN year in 2017.

However, over 80% of Indian tourists went to three countries – Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand – indicated the overwhelming popularity of these destinations. Direct air links is one reason for growth of traffic to these countries.

 
"The current need for multiple visas is hindering cross-border tourism in this region. A proposal for an ASEAN common visa is in discussion. A common airline pass covering destinations in the region is also under consideration," Periasamy added.