Malaysia launches 'visa on arrival' for Indians

New Delhi, Sep 25: South East Asia's one of the leading travel destination Malaysia today announced the 'Visa on Arrival' facility for Indian tourists while keeping options open for ''joint-promotion of tourism'' between New Delhi and Kuala Lumpur.

''India is a potential market and we want to ease travel problems of the tourists in order to make Malaysia a premier holiday destination in the world,'' country's Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said while announcing his initiative here.

Indian tourists can avail this visa facility -- valid for 30 days -- from six different points of entry to Malaysia, the second largest tourist destination of Asia after Hongkong. ''The cost of RM 100 would be charged as a port of entry visa,'' Mr Mansor said.

Besides the national capital, the minister, who is on his maiden visit to India, is leading Malaysian delegation to Mumbai, Channai and Bangalore to promote bilateral tourism between the two countries.

''I will not be meeting my counterpart in India, due to misarrangements, but I will meet the Chief Minsiters and Ministers of southern states and will discuss promotion of bilateral tourism with them,'' he said.

As a first step for strengthening ties with India, he said, his ministry had proposed a special ASEAN-India Tourism summit, which would be held at Kuala Lumpur in the first half of next year.

The summit would encourage intra-regional tourism and investment oppurtunities, thereby incereasing regional trade, he noted.

The Minister also said that Malaysian tourism ministry will soon be launching a campaign in India to encourage investment from private Indian companies in real estate and owning property for running businesses there.

''We envisage a great potential in this sector and would welcome Indian individuals to invest and be part of 'Malaysia-My Second Home' programme,'' he said.

The Malaysian tourism ministry envisages that by 2007, the number of Indians visiting their country will increase to 4,00,000. The figures for 2005 stood at 2,25,789.

Indians are one of the largest spenders in Malaysia, with the total tourism receipts surging by over 72 per cent in the year 2005 from the previous year, to close at RM 557.5 million, the minister informed.

UNI