INDIA: Over 43,800 People Arrived In India On e-tourist Visa

Over 43,800 people arrived in India on e-tourist visa in May as compared to 15,659 during the same month last year, recording a whopping hike of nearly 180 percent in footfalls

Over 43,800 people arrived in India on e-tourist visa in May as compared to 15,659 during the same month last year, recording a whopping hike of nearly 180 percent in footfalls.

The US continues to occupy the top slot, followed by the UK and China among the countries availing e-tourist visa facility, the Tourism Ministry said in a statement. 43,833 people arrived in India on e-tourist visa in May as compared to 15,659 during the same month last year, registering a growth of 179.9 percent in the footfall, it said.

Launched on November 27, 2014, the facility was initially available for citizens of 113 countries arriving at 16 airports in India till February 25 this year.

The scheme, however, was extended for citizens of 37 more countries from February 26. During January-May, 2016, a total of 4,34,927 tourist arrived on e-tourist visa as compared to 1,10,657 during the corresponding period last year, recording an exponential growth of 293 percent.

Among the top 10 source countries availing the facility in May, the US share was maximum with 18.52 percent, followed by the UK (15.63 percent), China (8.17 percent), France (5.16 percent), Germany (4.91 percent) and Australia (4.50 percent). The share of Canada was 4.49 percent, while that of UAE 3.01 percent, Russia 2.79 percent and and Malaysia 2.12 percent, it said.