Dipak Deva Managing Director, Travel Corporation of India

We heartily welcome the government’s announcement on the restart of tourist visa issuance by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for international guests travelling to India starting October 15, 2021 (charter flights) and from November 15, 2021, for regular commercial flights. This coupled with the earlier announcement of free visas for the first five lakh inbound tourists, is a critical move that will give fillip and accelerate a muchneeded revival of inbound tourism - a sector that plays a critical role, with over nine per cent contribution to India’s GDP and US$30 billion in net foreign exchange receipts; equally a force multiplier in terms of employment generation and skill development across allied sectors.