Today I read in the news that eVisas have increased tourism for India by 400%. How do eVisas increase tourism so drastically? How is it different from a regular visa in terms of increasing tourism?
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I couldn't find a tourism tag to add to the question. I did see specific tourism tags like medical tourism , ecotourism but no generic tourism tag. Lack of a tourism tag looks strange.– RamCommented Feb 18, 2015 at 15:22
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1It'd be too generic - just about every question on here could be tagged with it.– dlanodCommented Feb 18, 2015 at 21:49
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Yeah true, did we have the tag before and burninate the tag because it was too generic?– RamCommented Feb 18, 2015 at 21:54
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3 Answers
The increase is in visas on arrival and not tourists
Assume India had 100 visitors earlier, of which 10 availed of visa on arrival. Now 50 of them avail of visa on arrival
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1Thanks for sharing the link. The news article I saw is so misleading.– RamCommented Feb 18, 2015 at 17:28
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1@Sri One must be careful of what is reported by Times of India
;), particularly their online version. I am an avid TOI reader and their online news has deteriorated to difficultly poor qualities.– dearNCommented Feb 19, 2015 at 9:05 -
3+1 Worth adding that the actual increase in visitors in the same 2013-14 time period was just 6.8% - which is actually lower than the increase was in 2012-2013 (when it increased by 9%) Commented Feb 19, 2015 at 13:30
eVisas are easier to obtain, thus encouraging more people to visit. While for many who visit this forum, visas are but a minor nuisance, to many they are an obstacle, finding the form to fill out, going to get photos made, going to the bank for a bank money order ... easier to go somewhere else.
Though I find a 400% increase to be stretching it a bit for these reasons alone. There would likely be additional reasons such as lower fees, higher approval rates, etc.
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Thanks for the answer. I understand that it make the visa process easier. I was wondering how eVisa would increase tourism by 400%. I will reword the question a bit.– RamCommented Feb 18, 2015 at 15:48
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This 400% is probably because the visa process in India used to be a slow one with a lot of paperwork. Additionally, there were some rules that you have to apply for a visa from the country your citizenship is at. This prevented many people from coming to India "on their way".– AKSCommented Feb 18, 2015 at 20:54
A comparison just for the sake of making an example would be online shopping vs conventional shopping. Which one is easier? Ordering a movie online and being able to watch it on spot without moving your lazy butt or going all the way to the store to get the DVD?
Same thing goes for visas. Most people when planning a vacation they put a list of places to choose from, then they start checking prices and other stuff and visa is indeed on top of that list. Being able to have the visa easily will be a big plus to that destination.
Other thing, online visas mean there is less auditing by humans, computers can do that stuff faster and in some cases it will be issued on-spot, and the faster the visa is granted, the more people will be putting that destination on the top of the list.
answered Feb 18, 2015 at 15:52
