India to include China in new visa on arrival policy

Every year tens of thousands of visitors are attracted by the Taj Mahal, a mausoleum in Agra, India.(Photo/huanqiu.com)

India is planning to extend its visa on arrival policy from the current 43 countries to 150 countries with China, France, Italy, Spain and Britain among its first batch, Shanghai Morning Post reports.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswomen Hua Chunying expressed China's support for the new policy at a regular press conference held on March 25, 2015, saying that China welcomes other countries' efforts to make it easier for Chinese citizens to get visas, and the Chinese side will make joint efforts with the Indian side to constantly facilitate personnel exchanges between the two countries.

The new policy is expected to be announced by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his prospective visit to China between May and June in 2015.

India's Tourism minister Mahesh Sharma told local reporters that extending its visa on arrival policy to China, France, Italy, Spain and Britain can largely increase the country's attractiveness as a tourism and business destination.

It worth mentioning that India's plan to extend its visa on arrival policy to Chinese tourists is related to low Chinese tourist numbers in India. In 2013, India received 175,000 Chinese tourists, making up only 2.51 percent of India's foreign tourists.

India hopes that its new visa-on-arrival facility available to Chinese tourists would boost its tourism revenues and ensure more investment from China.