New Delhi: Visa-on-Arrival facility for tourists will now be available at four more international airports across the country, besides the four existing metro cities. "The Home Ministry has issued orders extending Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) facility to four more airports at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Hyderabad and Bangalore with effect from August 15," said a senior Tourism Ministry official. Currently, the VoA facility is operational at four international airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

It was decided earlier at the third inter-ministerial coordination committee meeting to extend the facility of tourist Visa on Arrival (VoA) at these airports, said the official. Visitors from 11 countries including Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines and Myanmar are eligible to get VoA facility. The visa-on-arrival scheme has contributed to an increase in the number of tourists from these countries and the government was in the final stages of consultations on allowing the facility to citizens of another 10 countries, including Germany, France and Russia, said the official. The Miinistry has set a target of attracting 12 million international tourists by 2016.