2.58 lakh foreigners availed e-tourist visa during Jan-Oct

Over 2.58 lakh foreign tourists availed e-tourist visa facility between January and October this year.

A total of 2,58,182 tourists availed e-tourist visa (eTV) facility during January-October, 2015 whereas 21,995 got visa on arrival during the same period last year, registering a growth of 1073.8 per cent, said a senior Tourism Ministry official.

The large increase can be attributed to the introduction of e-tourist visa (eTV) for 113 countries as against the earlier visa-on-arrival scheme for 12 countries only, the official said.

The e-tourist visa scheme was launched in November last.

As many as 56,477 foreign tourists availed eTV facility in October this year as compared to 2,705 during the same month last year, registering a growth of 1,987.9 per cent, the official said.

At present, eTV facility is available for citizens of 113 countries arriving at 16 airports. Maximum tourists from Britain (22.80 per cent) availed the scheme, followed by the USA (16.70 per cent), France (7.09 per cent), Germany (7.02 per cent), Australia (5.53 per cent) and Canada (4.39 per cent).