Kerala Tourism To Boost with Visa On Arrival Facility
28 August 2013
Thiruvananthapuram
The introduction of tourist visa-on-arrival (T-VoA) facility at Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi airports will help attract more foreign visitors to the state, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said Wednesday.
T-VoA is currently available for citizens of 11 countries — Cambodia, Finland, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Luxembourg, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.
T-VoA allows tourists from these nations to request for a visa upon their arrival at either of the two airports. The fee is 60 US dollars and the visa is valid for up to 30 days. It will be issued twice a year and is for those coming for recreation, sightseeing and meeting friends or relatives.
Those applying should not have a residence or occupation in India. They should have a passport with a minimum validity of six months and produce proof of confirmed hotel booking and return tickets when applying for T-VoA.
Tourist arrivals from Japan were up 56 per cent in the past five years to 11,440 in 2012 while arrivals from Finland more than doubled over the period to 5,160 last year.Tourist arrivals from New Zealand, Philippines and Singapore have also gone up between 75 and 90 per cent since 2008.”The VoA facility has been a long-standing demand from Kerala Tourism and now we intend to take full advantage of it,” said Tourism Minister A.P. Anil Kumar.
Source-http://india.nydailynews.com
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