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Mahesh

03/12/23 09:30 AM IST

Wooing Indian tourists with visa-free entry

In News
  • Malaysia has become the latest country to extend the advantage of visa-free travel to Indian citizens.
  • The facility will be extended to Indian travellers till December 31, 2024 and will be valid for 30 days from the date of entry.
Implications of the decision
  • Tourism has emerged as one of the key focus areas for Malaysia’s post-COVID recovery strategy.
  • Renowned for its scenic locations like the Langkawi beaches, Malaysia’s tourism sector was hit hard during the COVID period when travel restrictions and visa problems nearly decimated its tourism industry.
  • Malaysia is taking serious steps to recover its leadership in the tourism sector.
  • According to the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, 10.7 million visitors chose to visit the country in 2022 bringing in more than $28 billion to the economy.
  • The recovery can be measured by the fact that during the peak COVID period of 2021, only 0.13 million tourists visited Malaysia.
  • The visa-free facility to Indian (and Chinese) travellers is, therefore, aimed at making the country a more attractive destination for recreation seekers from two of the major Asian economies.
Other visa free countries
  • Among the major regional tourism destinations, Sri Lanka and Thailand are the nearby economies that have also extended visa-free travel facility to Indians.
  • Sri Lanka which was hit by a economic crisis in 2022 has a reason to make itself an attractive destination.
  • Its visa-free policy for Indians is driven by both economic and political reasons.
Categories of Visa Exemption
  • India has visa exemption agreements with many countries in the world that cater to multiple categories of visas.
  • According to the Ministry of External Affairs, at least 34 countries across the world, have agreements with India that exempt visas for the holders of Indian diplomatic passports.
  • These include Germany, France, Iran, Japan, Norway, Turkey and others.
  • That apart there are at least 99 countries with which India has operational agreements for “diplomatic, service/official passport holders”.
  • According to the MEA, (un-updated list), there are 16 countries that offer visa-free travel facility for a certain period of time to ordinary Indian passport holders — this includes, Nepal, Bhutan, Fiji etc.
  • The list, however, keeps changing as countries keep on experimenting with their visa policy.
  • According to the latest estimate available in the Passport Index website, there are at least 26 countries at present that provide visa-free facility to ordinary Indian passport holders.
Visa Free facility
  • Countries extend visa-free facility to Indian tourists for a certain amount of time or for a period depending on their advantage.
  • But there are factors on the ground that may also determine whether a particular tourist is suitable for such facilities.
  • Malaysia, for example, has mentioned that the scheme will be subjected to security clearance.
  • Similarly, visa-free facility does not mean relaxation of security protocol in the port of entry.
  • For example, in Dominica and El Salvador — that provide visa-free entry to Indians — strict checks are carried out in airports to prevent illegal or undocumented immigration to the Americas from India.
  • There are reports from places like Guatemala that extended visa-free travel to Indians but withdrew in view of fear of undocumented immigration.
Benefits
  • Tourism destinations like Singapore, Egypt and Albania provide e-visa facility to attract Indian travellers.
  • E-visa is helpful for countries that do not have formal diplomatic missions in India.
  • Today, tourism plays a vital role in a nation’s economy. Many countries, as a result, offer various attractions for tourists from across the world to visit the country.
  • One such attraction is removing the usual hassles of travel logistics, such as visas.
  • Therefore, providing visa free entry to tourists creates a large impetus for tourism, which is perhaps one of the prime reasons why many countries have extended such facilities.
Source- The Hindu

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