The Centre has finally given its nod for the introduction of e-Tourist Visa on Arrival (e-TVOA) at the Visakhapatnam International Airport. The facility will be launched by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday.
The e-Tourist Visa facilitates arrival of tourists from 147 countries at 16 airports in India —Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchi and Varanasi.
The facility, now extended to the Visakhapatnam airport, will facilitate foreign tourists to fly into Visakhapatnam and Andhra Pradesh. The Vizag airport will become the first in A.P. to get the facility.
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In addition, tourists coming into India from Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Laos, Indonesia and Myanmar do not need e-Visa or Visa in advance and they can take the Tourist Visa on Arrival (TVOA) at eight airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
On a representation from the Tours and Travels Association of Andhra (TTAA), Visakhapatnam MP and BJP State president Kambhapati Haribabu had sent a proposal to both the Home and External Affairs ministries in April 2016.
Union Minister Sushma Swaraj had assured in a written reply to the MP during the same month that she was getting the matter examined.
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Decision hailed
While thanking the Minister of Civil Aviation P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, the Chief Minister and the Visakhpatnam MP for introduction of the e-TVOA facility, TTAA Chairman O. Naresh Kumar and its president K. Vijay Mohan sought early introduction of TVOA also in Visakhapatnam to boost tourism further in AP. Rajya Sabha Member T. Subbarami Reddy and D. Varada Reddy of the Air Travellers’ Association (India) hailed the decision.