Government may lower visa fee - Fusion - WeRIndia

In order to attract foreign tourists, Indian government may to lower visa fee in lean season. This suggestion was given by a group of CEOs to the government. Normally foreigners visit India in the winter season to early summer season i.e. from October to March.

Usually, the number of foreigners who visit India between April and September slash.

This is mainly due to extreme summers in India. As a result, India is witnessing decrease in its foreign currency in the non-peak seasons.

So, to boost the Indian tourism throughout the year and make India a favourite destination, the reduction of visa fee is recommended by some young CEOs in a recent Niti Aayog event.

Earlier in the month August ‘Champions of Change’ was held in which 200 young CEOs were invited to interact formally with the Prime Minister of India.

They were divided into six groups and each were given a challenge to deal with.

PM Modi showed interest in such ideas to boost Indian tourists after which both the tourism ministry and the ministry of external affairs want to work out on the modalities to bring this idea into effect so that India can witness a yearlong inflow of tourists which thereby enhance the jobs and growth in this sector.

During the peak season, many travelers from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US, the UK and Canada visit India. Approximately 3.66 million foreigners had visited India in the lean period i.e. April-September last year. This contributed nearly 40% of the total visits.

The citizens from the Middle East countries may find the Himalayas cool enough to spend their vacation.

So, if the visa fee is lowered, then chances will be increased to attract more people to explore India throughout the year.

The cost of a six-month multiple entry Indian tourist visa varies with each country. It is $32 for Singaporean nationals, more than $67 for US citizens and more than $137 for UK citizens.

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