Indian Tour Operators Hail Malaysian e-Visa Initiative

By Shakir Husain NEW DELHI, Feb 17 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has launched an e-visa to make it easy for Indian travellers to visit the country for holiday, a move tour operators said would help in achieving the target of one million visitors from India this year. The e-visa can be issued within 48 hours and allows tourists a stay of up to two weeks in Malaysia, Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz announced at a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday evening. This "entry visa" will cost only US$20 in processing fees, just one-fourth of the multiple-entry pass fees that Indian passport holders have to pay now. Mohamed Nazri said the initiative addresses the concerns raised by the Indian travel industry about the visa fees. India's leading travel industry bodies welcomed the new facility and pledged their support for Malaysia's tourism promotion efforts. Tourism Malaysia and the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) and the Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) on Thursday signed a plaque on promoting travel from India. "You have given us the visa facility we asked for, now we'll help you in your target of one million arrivals," TAAI's northern region chairman Rajan Sehgal said. There has been some resistance to Malaysian visa fee from travellers, OTOAI president Guldeep Singh Sahni told Bernama. Sahni said a multiple-entry visa to Malaysia costs 5,600 rupees (US$83). Although the visa fee is only 1,000 rupees, there are additional charges like one-stop-centre (OSC) processing charges and logistics fees. "This e-visa is a welcome move. It will help in reducing the cost of travel to Malaysia," Sahni said. Malaysian Immigration Department director-general Mustafar Ali, who was present at the press conference, told Bernama the new e-visa is aimed at tourists coming from India and China. Malaysia remains a popular destination among Indian holidaymakers although 2016 saw a decline in visitor numbers compared to the previous year. India ranked as the sixth biggest source of tourists for Malaysia, with 722,141 visitors in 2015. -- BERNAMA