This is in addition to 43 countries which received approval last year.
The new government, it seems, wants to change the face of the tourism sector.
However, many historians, conservationists and artists have slam move to 'entrust' Red Fort to cement company.
The Union tourism ministry has approved 51 hotel projects in South India, according to a Confederation of Indian Industry report.
Close to 200 webcams are likely to be installed across the country
The e-Visa facility is available to visitors from about 44 countries.
To increase the inbound tourist inflow, the tourism ministry has also given a proposal to the home ministry.
Is Chiranjeevi the tourism ministry's secret weapon? Why is Vijay Mallya upset with Veerappa Moily? What in-house problem is the railway minister grappling with? All this, and more, in this week's Dilli Gupshup...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to be the mascot of 'Incredible India' campaign with the Tourism Ministry finally deciding to do away with plans to rope in any Bollywood stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, for the role which was lying vacant after ouster of Aamir Khan earlier this year.
Arunima Sinha, a former national level volleyball player, who had lost her right leg after thrown off a moving train by some hoodlums, created history on Tuesday by becoming the first Indian amputee to conquer Mount Everest.
Industry insiders expect Chinese tourists coming to India to double in around two years.
Both BJP and Congress have now stated that they will oppose Playboy Club's plan to open a branch at Candolim beach which has been under consideration of the Goa tourism ministry
Key United Progressive Alliance ally Trinamool Congress has opposed the appointment of senior Congress leader Shankarsingh Vaghela as chairman of India Tourism Development Corporation with a cabinet minister rank.
Incredible India campaign has proved to be pretty successful.
Besides the messages in English and regional languages on the tickets, exterior and interior of coaches of a few long-distance trains will be utilised for spreading the awareness campaign across the country.
The contribution of top 10 states was about 85.5 per cent to the total number of domestic tourist visits during 2010.
The Everest hunt for climbers began with a tragedy in Nepal with three mountaineers one each from Germany, Canada and South Korea - perishing while returning after scaling the world's highest summit, officials said.
Foreign exchange earnings from tourism also recorded a robust growth of 19.2 per cent during this period as the exchequer earned Rs 6,485 crore (Rs 64.85 billion) compared to Rs 5,440 crore (Rs 54.4 billion) in the corresponding period last year, according to Tourism Ministry data.
As part of the guidelines of the code, the signatories are encouraged to assist the tourists.
Stating this Union Tourism minister, Subodh Kant Sahai said on Friday his ministry has appointed a national level consultant to identify four tourism circuits in each state, excluding the North Eastern states and 2 in each union territory for integrated development of tourism circuits during the 12th Plan period.
West Indies batting legend Brian Lara, in Delhi for a cricket clinic, talks about the disappointment of being ignored at the IPL auction, India's chances at the upcoming World Cup and his life after quiting the game.
With a double-digit growth in the foreign tourist arrivals, 2010 was otherwise a good year for the ministry.
A Maoist-backed trade union forced the closure of a luxurious hotel in tourist hub Pokhara, demanding reinstatement of a security guard sacked by the management.
The 'Incredible India' campaign has attracted around four lakh foreign tourists in June this year as against 3.70 lakh in the corresponding period last year, data prepared by the Tourism Ministry said.
The VoA scheme was introduced on January 1, 2010 for citizens of five countries -- Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore.
His nomination is effective from November 11, 2014, RBI said on Monday.
Speaking at a tourism ministry's Singapore roadshow for promoting the Delhi Commonwealth Games and visa on arrival on Monday night, the agents said travelers were no longer comfortable to make a return trip to India, having landed at one of its airports and then travelling to neighbouring countries.
The festival begins on Uttarayana, the day when winter starts turning into summer, and will conclude on Makar Sankranti.
While the US was closely followed by the UK, the neighbouring country Bangladesh occupied a distant third position among top 15 source countries from where the maximum number of tourists came to India last year.
Foreign tourist arrivals continued to dip despite the Visit India 2009 scheme launched by the government offering several concessions to woo tourists.
The tourism ministry on Monday insisted that the new visa rules would not affect inflow of visitors and dismissed as a 'joke' the apprehension of Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor that India would become a less welcoming destination.
With less than a month left for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, statistics show that the foreign tourist arrivals in India in August has declined as against July this year.
As part of its efforts to boost the sector, the Tourism Ministry has decided to announce policy initiatives for promotion of innovative programmes like 'caravan' and 'heliport tourism' in its 100-day agenda.
There has been a growth of 15.1 per cent in Foreign Tourist Arrivals in February 2011 over February 2010.
In a move that promises to make credit easily available to the sector, the Union tourism ministry has permitted the hotel industry to go in for external commercial borrowings up to $100 million during the current financial year. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India too has removed hotels from the 'commercial real estate' classification.
Existing and new hotels of all categories all over the country would now have to comply with the requirements for the differently abled persons in respect of accessibility, special rooms with bathrooms and facilities in the public area by September 1, 2010, according to the revised guidelines. Tourism ministry has tried to address major concerns to make the classification norms friendlier for differently abled persons by adopting the international best practices.
According to sources, around 25 hotels would benefit from this move and as a consequence the government would have access to 2,000 more rooms for the Commonwealth Games.
There have been cancellations in inbound air bookings as well as in hotels after the November 26 terror strikes in the western metropolis, industry experts said. According to the ministry, the growth rate in the foreign tourist arrival during January-November 2008 was only eight per cent as compared to growth rate of 14.8 per cent during the same period in 2007.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances