Foreign tourists can now visit Andaman and Nicobar Islands without any restrictions

Foreign tourists can now visit Andaman and Nicobar Islands without any restrictions as the Home Ministry has modified its earlier order which made it mandatory for them to register with the Foreigners Registration Officer within 24 hours of their arrival, a source in the ministry said.

The step was taken on the suggestion made by the Tourism Ministry to boost the foreign tourist arrivals in the Union Territory through an order dated September 17.

This order follows an earlier directive which allowed foreigners to visit 29 inhabited and 11 uninhabited islands in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which were prohibited for visitors under the Foreigners (Restricted Area) Order, 1963, without any restrictions.

The Ministry of Tourism has been pushing to relax rules in the restricted areas of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim and other areas to give a boost to tourism.

It has also proposed that travel restrictions be removed from border areas in Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.