FOLLOWING the recent inclusion of China, India will be extending its e-Tourist Visa (ETV) initiative to 36 more countries, bringing the total number of countries under the scheme to 113.
New to the list are Malaysia and Taiwan as well as important European source markets like the UK, Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden, among others.
The Indian government is also rolling out the ETV facility at seven more airports – Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Gaya, Jaipur, Lucknow, Trichy and Varanasi. With this addition, 16 designated airports in India will offer ETV services.
Sarab Jit Singh, senior vice president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, said: “We are trying to convince the government to increase the validity of ETVs from 30 days to 60 days…and increase the 30-day advance booking for ETVs from the present 30 days to six months.”
