Foreign tourists increase by 23.8 % owing to VoA scheme

New Delhi, Jan 15 (KNN)  As many as 2700 Visa on Arrivals (VoAs) were issued in December, 2013 posting a growth of 23.8 per cent as compared to 2181 VoAs during the corresponding month in 2012.

A total number of 20,294 VoAs were issued during January to December 2013 compared to 16,084 VoAs during the same period of 2012 registering a growth of 26.2 per cent, said official data.

Japan was at the top among eleven countries with 744 VoAs issued under this scheme during December 2013. It was followed by New Zealand (619), Singapore (416), Indonesia (358), the Philippines (352), Finland (141), Vietnam (24), Cambodia (20), Luxembourg (19), Myanmar (5) and Laos (2).

The VoAs issued during January to December 2013 were: Japan (6,448), New Zealand (3,968), the Philippines (2,967), Indonesia (2,758), Singapore (2,486), Finland (1,030), Vietnam (205), Myanmar (148), Luxembourg (145), Cambodia (120) and Laos (19).

New Delhi airport has recorded the highest number of 11,046 VoAs issue during January to December 2013. It was followed by Mumbai (4,206), Chennai (2,815), Kolkata (1,351), Bangalore (380), Kochi (229), Hyderabad (165) and Trivandrum (102).

VoAs scheme was launched in January 2010 as a facilitative measure to attract more foreign tourists to India.  (KNN/ST)