Commencing from 27th November 2014 e-Tourist Visa facility was available until 25th February 2016 for citizens of 113 countries arriving at 16 Airports in India. The Government of India has extended this scheme for citizens of 37 more countries w.e.f 26th February 2016 taking the tally to 150 countries. Status of achievements in respect of e-Tourist Visa availed by International tourists visiting India last year in 2015 has been surpassed in the first 06 months of the current calendar year 2016.
The following are the important highlights of e-Tourist Visa during August, 2016:-
(i) During the month of August, 2016 a total of 66,097 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 22,286 during the month of August, 2015 registering a growth of 196.6%.
(ii) During January- August 2016, a total of 6,06,493 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 1,69,976 during January-August 2015, registering a growth of 256.8% .
(iii) This high growth may be attributed to introduction of e-Tourist Visa for 150 countries as against the earlier coverage of 113 countries.
(iv) The percentage shares of top 10 source countries availing e-Tourist Visa facilities during August, 2016 were as follows:
UK (19.4%), USA (13.2%), China (6.7%), France (6.4%), Spain (6.1%), UAE (5.5%), Germany (4.6%), Australia (3.7%), Canada (3.5%) and Korea Republic of (2.4%).
(v) The percentage shares of top 10 ports in tourist arrivals on e-Tourist Visa during August, 2016 were as follows:
New Delhi Airport (45.30%), Mumbai Airport (21.53%), Chennai Airport (8.82%), Bengaluru Airport (7.58%), Kochi Airport (4.60%), Hyderabad Airport (3.52%), Kolkata Airport (2.07%), Amritsar Airport (2.01%), Ahmadabad Airport (1.44%) and Trivandrum Airport (1.36%).
