Visas on arrival, e-visas increase tourists to Malaysia from India, China

After Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, the Malaysian Prime Minister, visited India in April, the number of visa approvals for tourists from India increased by 91.1 percent in April when compared to March.

While 36,442 visas were approved for Indians in March, the numbers of visa approvals for people of this country were 69,635 in April. This happened due to the introduction of e-visas, Electronic Travel Registration and Information (eNTRI) or visa on arrival (VOA) for Indian and Chinese visitors.

Chairman of Tourism Malaysia, Dato' Dr. Siew Ka Wei, was quoted by Travel Daily News as saying that this growth took place because of the Prime Minister’s initiatives. He said that Najib Tun Razak’s visits to India and China recently and his request to make travel formalities easier for Indian and Chinese tourists helped to promote confidence in these two markets for Malaysian travel.

Dato' Dr. Siew said that these developments came at the right time, attracting more Indian and Chinese tourists to Malaysia.

As information technology has become a major driving force in tourism now, the application system introduced online is expected to change the face of the tourism industry of Malaysia.

In addition, the friendly ties that Malaysia shares with India and China will make visitors from both those countries comfortable in this Southeast Asian country.