The government of India has announced that they will start granting tourist visas for foreigners after 18 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, India will be welcoming tourists traveling from chartered flights starting from 15th October, and other arrivals from 15th November.
India has already opened the borders for business travelers, diplomats, and student visa holders before deciding to open borders for tourists.
People traveling with tourist visas are expected to follow all the due protocols and norms relating to the Covid-19 as notified by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare from time to time. India welcomed over 10.6 million foreign tourists in 2019 before closing due to the pandemic. In 2018, the foreign exchange amounts from tourism amounted to $28.6 billion.
Earlier this year, India was one of the worst-hit countries of the new Delta variant which was first identified in this country. Until this day, India has had over 449,856 deaths and over 33,894,312 cases, according to the data published by Johns Hopkins University. The vaccination rate of the country is currently at 18.63% of the population.
As per US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, India stands at ‘Level 2: Moderate Risk’ destination for US citizen travelers. It advises unvaccinated travelers to avoid non-essential travels and, other travelers should be fully vaccinated.
