india

Updated: Aug 21, 2019 01:14 IST

India will offer e-tourist visas for “lean tourism periods”, which would be cheaper than the conventional ones, tourism minister Prahlad Singh Patel announced this at a meeting of state tourism ministers on Tuesday.

“India will now offer 30-day e-visas during lean periods between April and June, which will be priced at $10. The fee for peak tourism period from July to March will be $25,” he said, adding the initiatives are aimed at attracting more tourists to the country.

He added that a new five-year e-visa, priced at $80, will also come into effect, while a one year e-visa will be offered at $40.

For tourists from 14 Pacific Island nations of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) group, which includes Fiji, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue Island, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, no visa fees will apply. The same norm is applicable to Myanmar, Argentina, Indonesia, Jamaica, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa and Uruguay.

Visa fees for the United States for 30 days to give fiveyears will range from $10 to $80 while for Japan, Singapore and Sri Lanka one and five year visas are priced at $25.

Earlier, Patel had held meetings with ambassadors and diplomats from different missions to look at ways of increasing tourist footfalls, during which he was told that a simplified visa structure can be of help. Tourism trade officials had asked him to ease visa fees as this was sending potential tourists to other South Asian nations.

Ministry officials said that the reduced visa structure has been sent to the ministry of external affairs for consideration.

During his deliberations with state tourism ministers, the union minister explored ways of developing an app which will act as a one-stop solution for information on tourism services as well as a grievance redressal mechanism. Ideas for the adoption of adventure tourism and “bed and breakfast” facilities, homestay guidelines by states were also taken up.

Patel also launched the Hindi version of the new “Incredible India” portal and announced that the Arabic, Chinese and Spanish versions of the site will be launched next month. The new portal was launched on June 14 last year, and it has already attracted 8.5 million visitors, including 6.5 million unique visitors till July 31, according to officials.