India’s Latest Tourism Play: 100,000 Free Visas, New Destinations

28.09.2024 - 14:13 / skift.com / Peden Doma Bhutia / Narendra Modi

The Indian government is offering visa-fee waivers for the first 100,000 tourists entering the country under the “Chalo India” program. The operational guidelines will be finalized soon, after which the scheme will officially launch, the ministry has said.

The Indian government had waived visa fees for 500,000 tourists between 2022 and 2023 to support tourism after Covid.

Despite a 44% surge in foreign arrivals in 2023, the country is still not back to pre-pandemic numbers. In response, the Ministry of Tourism has rolled out a series of initiatives.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March asked Indian diaspora members to encourage 5 non-Indian friends to travel to India. The tourism ministry launched the Chalo India program to enable Indian diaspora members to become Incredible India Ambassadors. They will also earn rewards for every foreign friend who travels.

Indian diaspora members will need to register on the special website, which goes live in a few weeks, and enter the details of their nominated friends. The website will then assign a unique code after verification. These travelers can then use the special code to get a free visa.

India’s tourism ministry is also coordinating development of key tourism destinations over the next three years in collaboration with ministries like culture, civil aviation, and railways.

“Destinations like Varanasi and Ekta Nagar in Gujarat succeeded because all ministries worked together — transport, tourism, railways, and others,” an official told Skift.

The government plans to create a master list of priority destinations with coordinated investment in roads, airports, railways, and tourism infrastructure.

The government is making the master list public so the private sector can plan projects — like hotels and attractions — around these areas.

“This approach aims to stop the scattershot use of resources and instead channel both public and private efforts into key destinations, creating a combined force for tourism development,” the official said.

The master list will act as a roadmap, ensuring strategic, high-impact development while leaving room for future expansion.

Recognizing the role of local communities in shaping tourist experiences, the government had launched the “” and “” initiative in six pilot destinations, including Orchha in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan’s Jodhpur on August 15 this year.

On Friday, the initiative was launched across 50 tourist destinations in the country, including Delhi, Agra, Darjeeling, Dimapur and Kochi. loosely translated in English would mean tourist friendly while means sister, highlighting the focus on women in tourism.

The objective is to ensure that tourists encounter friendly locals who act as both storytellers and