印度将向中国游客开放电子签证

Tourists from China will be able to apply for visas online without visiting the Indian mission. Once approved, the visitor will get an authorization letter which has to be produced during immigration.

India has granted this privilege to 44 countries already, and has plans to expand the service to China and four other countries.

Indian Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma says extending the visa-on-arrival program to China and the other countries will boost the Indian tourism industry immensely.

"Now with 44 countries as on, we have seen about 1200 percent of growth in this and we understand that if these five countries or more are added to this, we will able to reach around 62 per cent of the world tourism market. So, we understand the importance of this."

Currently, Chinese tourists account for less than two percent of India's domestic tourism market.

In 2012, fewer than 170,000 Chinese tourists visited India. In 2013, the number barely increased, reaching 175,000.

India and China both have well-established visa-on-arrival programs, but the services had not been extended to each other.

Some experts believe that opening visa-on-arrival for Chinese tourists will have a massive impact on India's tourism industry. Subhash Goyal is President of the Indian Association of Tour Operators.

"Once that is done then tourism from China is going to grow and it is not only group tourism but now with a lot of wealth in the hands of people in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Beijing there are a lot rich Chinese who are also traveling."

However, tourism experts acknowledge that India has much work to do in developing its tourism sector for Chinese travelers. For example, guides need to be trained in Mandarin, help lines for Chinese tourists need to be set up or expanded, and sanitation needs to be improved under the cleanliness drive already enacted by Prime Minister Modi.

The Indian government also needs to take steps to ensure the security of tourists, a particular concern for travelers from China.

As it stands right now, tourists arriving in India are given a list of "dos and don'ts" upon arrival at the immigration counter.

For CRI, this is Xyee.