Neighbour country India will provide free tourist visas to half a million foreigners to revive the tourism sector buffeted by the COVID epidemic situation.
These first five lakh Indian visas will be issued free of charge once the visa process begins. Individual travellers can take this benefit only once. Media reports quoted Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as saying.
India’s finance minister told reporters in New Delhi on Monday that the facility would run until March 31, 2022, or until five lakh visas were issued.
According to government estimates, 19.9 million foreigners visited India in 2019 and spent about USD 30.98 billion on the entertainment and business sector. daily stay of a foreign tourist in India is 21 days and the average daily spending is $34.
Besides this, the union government has also declared financial support to more than 11,000 registered tourist guides, and travel and tourism stakeholders. For instance, about 10,700 regional level tourist guides and travel and tourism stakeholders will be offered credits under 100% guarantee schemes.
