Visa on Arrival adds to USP of Kerala tourism

Tourist Visa on Arrival (T-VoA) facility, introduced in the Thiruvananthapuram airport from August 15, has acquired state-of-the-art facilities to enthuse foreigners and scale up the arrivals, thereby adding to the USP of Kerala Tourism.

T’Puram and Kochi airports are among only eight in the country to offer T-VoA and Kerala is the only state to have 2 airports offering the facility. A 250 sq ft holding area has been set aside in the Immigration section in the international airport here and the exclusive visa desks are manned by officials of the Intelligence Bureau. Special enclosures had been built for photographing visitors, and displays, signage and foreign exchange counters had been set up at the facility.

Though limited to visitors from 11 countries now, the facility has opened up new avenues for Kerala Tourism, while targeting 30 lakh foreign tourist arrivals by 2021. Kerala recorded 7,89,698 foreign tourist arrivals in 2012 and the forex earnings touched Rs 4,548 crore.

“The introduction ofT-VoA facility in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi airports marks a new chapter for Kerala Tourism and will help attract more foreign visitors to the state,” Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said, after inspecting the new facilities which had been put in place at the airport here.

Chandy was  accompanied by Tourism Minister A P Anil Kumar, Minister V S Sivakumar and senior officials. T-VoA was rolled out in the first phase in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Bangalore and Hyderabad were added in the second phase. T-VoA is currently available for citizens of 11 countries- Japan, Singapore, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia. T-VoA allows tourists from these  nations to request for a visa on their arrival in either of the two airports here. The fee is $ 60.

The visa will be valid for up to 30 days. It would be issued only twice in one calendar year and for visitors who come to India for recreation, sightseeing and meeting friends or relatives. Those applying for the visa should not have residence or occupation in India and should hold a passport with a minimum validity of six months. They should also produce proof of confirmed hotel booking and return tickets while applying for the T-VoA.

Visa on Arrival adds to USP of Kerala tourism