Goa airport gets
visa-on-arrival facility for 43 countries
PANAJI: The Centre has
extended the visa-on-arrival facility at the Goa airport for tourists from 43
countries, which is expected to bring in 15 per cent growth in tourism during
the ongoing season.
Goa's Dabolim airport
is among one of the nine places that has extended this facility, which will
further improve the prospects of its tourism growth, state tourism minister
Dilip Parulekar told reporters here yesterday.
The cities where VoA
(visa-on-arrival) will be issued include Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata,
Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.
The countries included
in the list are - Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Cook Islands, Djibouti, Fiji,
Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos,
Luxembourg, Marshal Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, New
Zealand, Niue Island, Norway, Oman, Palau, Palestine, Papua New Guinea,
Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand,
Tonga, Tuvalu, UAE, Ukraine, USA, Vanuatu and Vietnam, he said.
The single-entry
tourist visa will be valid for 30 days, the minister said.
The state government
had been pursuing the issue of VoA and e-visa with the Central government for
over two years, he said.
"We are very
happy to announce that the facilities have finally been launched and extended
to 43 countries effectively from yesterday," Parulekar said.
"This facility
will enable tourists from the 43 countries enlisted for the benefit to apply
and procure the visa within 96 hours with a validity of 30 days, which is
extendable subject to approval from the respective embassies," he said.
He mooted the need for
aggressive marketing in these countries in order to ensure that travel agencies
and tourists are made aware of the facility and to encourage foreign visitors
to avail it.
Goa tourism department
is confident that the launch of VoA will increase foreign tourist arrivals from
12 to 15 per cent annually.
"Within the next
four years, we could see the arrivals doubling from five lakh to one
million," Parulekar said.
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