February 6, 2014

INDIA LOOKS TO EXPAND VISA-ON-ARRIVAL PROGRAM TO 180 COUNTRIES

[In 2013, the number of foreign tourists grew 4.1 percent to 6.8 million, compared to 6.6 million in 2012. India is aiming to draw 12.6 million international tourist arrivals by 2016, a goal that is looking difficult to achieve.]

By Malavika Vyawahare

Prakash Singh/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Travelers waiting at immigration counters at the 
Indira Gandhi International Airport in 
New Delhi on July 14, 2010.
NEW DELHI — India said it would seek to expand its visa-on-arrival program to tourists from 180 countries, including the United States and China, to encourage more people to visit the country.

Currently, only citizens of 11 countries can receive Indian visas on arrival, which costs $60 per passenger, including children, and is valid for 30 days.

Rajeev Shukla, minister for planning and parliamentary affairs, told reporters Wednesday evening in Delhi that it would take about five or six months to set up the infrastructure to process the additional visas on arrival. “We hope to implement this from the next tourist season beginning October,” Mr. Shukla said.

When asked by reporters whether the countries affected would reciprocate the gesture, the minister replied, “India needs these tourists. They may not.”

The Indian tourism industry has seen slowing growth in international visitors over the past few years. The number of international tourist arrivals rose 9.2 percent in 2011, according to government data, but grew only 4.3 percent in 2012.

In 2013, the number of foreign tourists grew 4.1 percent to 6.8 million, compared to 6.6 million in 2012. India is aiming to draw 12.6 million international tourist arrivals by 2016, a goal that is looking difficult to achieve.

“Three years ago we were completely booked at this time, but now we hardly get one or two clients in a week,” said Sunil Kumar, 42, who has been running a taxi service catering to tourists in and around Delhi for the past two decades.

Mr. Kumar attributed the decline in his business to overseas visitors’ concerns about safety in north India.

“People prefer going to south India now because of all the negative media publicity and the incidents of violence against foreign women,” Mr. Kumar said.

Mr. Kumar said his travel agent partner told him that tourists were choosing to go to Sri Lanka, China and even Pakistan over India.

A 2011 evaluation study commissioned by the Tourism Ministry showed that the visa-on-arrival program, which began in 2010, had a “significant and positive impact” on foreigners’ decision to travel to India. Based on these findings, the study recommended extending visas on arrival to other countries.

The number of tourists applying for visas on arrival in December rose more than 20 percent compared to the same month in 2012, according to the government.

In previous discussions about expanding the program, the Home Ministry had objected to issuing visas on arrival to Chinese citizens, citing national security concerns, especially in light of border incursions by Chinese troops.

The decision to grant visas on arrival is not made by the Tourism Ministry but by the Ministry of Planning and requires the nod of the Home Ministry.

But the Chinese have emerged as the world’s biggest tourism spenders. Many Asian countries are already benefiting from this trend, including the Maldives, a tiny island-nation in the Indian Ocean, which is a big draw for Chinese tourists.

Yet foreign travelers shouldn’t rejoice just yet. Expanding the visa-on-arrival program would call for massive investments in infrastructure and personnel, which would require other ministries’ approval. There is also the possibility that after the national elections this spring, the decision to expand the number of eligible countries could be reviewed.

For now, eight countries have been left out of the expanded visa program: Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Somalia. Mr. Shukla declined to comment on why these countries had been excluded.

However, officials within the Tourism Ministry, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, told India Ink that apart from security concerns, Pakistan’s delay in granting India “most favored nation” status was one of the reasons for the exclusion.


Another neighbor, Sri Lanka, was passed over because of its history with the Tamil insurgency and the attendant security concerns, one official said.