Francisco Braganca, president of the Travel and Tourism Association of
Goa (TTAG), calls the VoA facility a "great boon", although a bit
belated. "It will be a great boon to tourism specially in Russian and
eastern European markets, where the decision to travel is belated and
distances are huge to travel to obtain the visas," Braganca, whose TTAG
is a collective of travel and tourism industry stakeholders operating in
Goa, told.
He expressed disappointment that countries like Britain and Sweden were not included in the list of 43 countries whose nationals have been cleared by the Central government for granting VoA.
"I believe they will be included in the second installment of countries to be included in the list. As regards countries like Britain, there is need to reduce the visa cost for e-visas and visa on arrival, as the cost of an Indian visa to India, which is about 100 pounds (Rs 9,700) is a deterrent for British families travelling into Goa," Braganca said.
After Russia, British nationals account for the second biggest contingent of foreign tourists who land in Goa annually and high visa fees are a big deterrent."In case there are four members of a family travelling, they land up paying Rs 40,000 which is extremely high," Braganca said.
The list of 43 countries considered for VoA 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, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, the UAE, Ukraine, the United States, Vanuatu and Vietnam.
According to Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar, the VoA facility will help double the foreign arrivals in Goa in four years. "Within the next four years we could see the arrivals doubling from 500,000 to a million," Parulekar said.
He expressed disappointment that countries like Britain and Sweden were not included in the list of 43 countries whose nationals have been cleared by the Central government for granting VoA.
"I believe they will be included in the second installment of countries to be included in the list. As regards countries like Britain, there is need to reduce the visa cost for e-visas and visa on arrival, as the cost of an Indian visa to India, which is about 100 pounds (Rs 9,700) is a deterrent for British families travelling into Goa," Braganca said.
After Russia, British nationals account for the second biggest contingent of foreign tourists who land in Goa annually and high visa fees are a big deterrent."In case there are four members of a family travelling, they land up paying Rs 40,000 which is extremely high," Braganca said.
The list of 43 countries considered for VoA 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, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, the UAE, Ukraine, the United States, Vanuatu and Vietnam.
According to Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar, the VoA facility will help double the foreign arrivals in Goa in four years. "Within the next four years we could see the arrivals doubling from 500,000 to a million," Parulekar said.
Source: Chhattisgarh Hindi News and MP Hindi News
