Following its recent introduction of e-visas for Chinese nationals, India is stepping up its efforts to provide convenient visa service for Chinese visitors, with simplified online screening by its intelligence department. The country has been receiving 300 applications online a day so far and introduced the changes to ensure that visas are processed within three days.
India's tourism industry has plenty of room to grow
An Interior Ministry official said that its intelligence bureau had reservations about relaxing visa application screening, a process that normally takes over three days to checking identities against blacklists, make various background searches and even investigate prior visits to Pakistan.
India’s foreign relations and tourism authorities on the other hand are keen to simplify visa processing for Chinese nationals, and the number of Chinese visitors has already tripled since the implementation of the e-visa policy, according to a Chinese official. An Indian official said India expects more Chinese visitors and anticipates that China will overtake the USA and Germany as India’s main inbound tourism market by next near.
Although India has rich tourism resources, its tourism industry has still not reached its full potential. One of the biggest challenges facing India’s tourism industry is not visas but civil unrest and security, especially for lone female travelers. Besides improving safety, the Indian tourism industry must also improve its capacity for tourists as the existing public transportation and hotel infrastructure around attractions is still far from adequate.(Translation by David)
