PANAJI: The Centre has extended the visa-on-arrival facility at the Goa airport for tourists from 43 countries, which is expected to bring in 15 per cent growth in tourism during the ongoing season.
Goa’s Dabolim airport is among one of the nine places that have extended this facility, which will further improve the prospects of its tourism growth, state tourism minister Dilip Parulekar told reporters here.
The cities where VoA (visa-on-arrival) will be issued include Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.
The countries included in the list 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, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, UAE, Ukraine, USA, Vanuatu and Vietnam, he said.
The single-entry tourist visa will be valid for 30 days, the minister said.
The state government had been pursuing the issue of VoA and e-visa with the Central government for over two years, he said.
“We are very happy to announce that the facilities have finally been launched and extended to 43 countries,” Parulekar said.
“This facility will enable tourists from the 43 countries enlisted for the benefit to apply and procure the visa within 96 hours with a validity of 30 days, which is extendable subject to approval from the respective embassies,” he said. -PTI
