India will finally provide e-visa for foreign travellers following an announcement of Parvez Dewan, Secretary of Tourism of the Indian Government during a seminar held in New Delhi earlier this week.
NEW DELHI- India received 6.84 million of tourists in 2013, representing roughly a million less than Indonesia and half of total arrivals to Singapore. Although, India has seen tourism growing regularly since the early 2000s, the progression of foreign arrivals continues to be slower than in other countries.
After jumping by 13% in 2011, the growth has been divided by two in 2012 at 5% and continued to slowdown last year at only 4%. The Minister of Tourism recognized that although India has great potential in tourism, it still ranks 39th among all countries in the world in total arrivals.
Lots of industry experts complaint that the sluggish growth comes from the difficulty to obtain a visa. In order to give a boost to Inbound Tourism in the country, the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Government of India will introduce the electronic visa facility this year, promised recently Parvez Dewan, Secretary for Tourism, Government of India during a seminar ‘Think Tourism-Think India: Thought Leadership Meet’ hosted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).
According to local media, the State Secretary stated that “a very historic decision has been taken in which the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the National Security Advisor (NSA) and all the related agencies have unanimously supported introduction of Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETAs). Though the decision has been taken, the orders have not been issued as the implementation does take time. Also, while the software for the system is in place, there is need for trained manpower.”
According to a report from ASSOCHAM conducted in association with YES Bank, tourism direct contribution to GDP is estimated at Rs 2,222 billion in 2013 and generated 25 million direct employments in 2012.
Recent data released by the WTTC forecast an accelerated growth in tourist arrivals in 2014 at 7.3%. This would put India total tourist arrivals at 7.35 million. However average spending by foreigners travelling to the country could decline sharply, due to the Rupiah weakness. According to WTTC, international tourist arrivals are expected to reach 13.43 million by 2024.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
