Malaysia introduces e-visa for Indian tourists

by Shrutee K/DNS

Mumbai, April 20, 2016: Travelling to Malaysia got a little more convenient. The Malaysian Government recently introduced the Electronic Travel Authorization Visa (e-visa) for a short visit to Malaysia. At this point in time, the e-visa facility is available to Indians residing in India only and is valid for a single journey stay of maximum 30 days in Malaysia for tourism purposes.

India is a significant contributor to the tourism economy of Malaysia. Last year as many as 722,141 Indian tourists visited Malaysia making it the 6^th largest contributor to tourist arrivals. Mr Mohd Hafiz, Director, Tourism Malaysia, Mumbai said, “We are always trying to make travel to Malaysia as convenient as it can get and the introduction of e-visa is a major step in that direction. We are confident that with this ease in visa process more and more Indians will now consider Malaysia as a destination of choice for their next holiday.”

The Malaysia e-visa comes at a fee of around Rs 2710 and can be obtained within 24- 48 hours with a validity of 3 months. For more details on the e-visa facility, please visithttp://www.windowmalaysia.my.

MALAYSIA TOURISM PROMOTION BOARD OR TOURISM MALAYSIA is an agency under the Ministry of Tourism & Culture, Malaysia. Tourism Malaysia focuses on the specific task of promoting Malaysia at all levels. Since its inception, Tourism Malaysia has grown by leaps and bounds and it has emerged as a major player in the international tourism scene. In 2014, Malaysia registered 27.4 million tourist arrivals and RM72 billion in receipts, making tourism its second largest foreign exchange earner.

Through the Tourism NKEA (National Key Economic Area), collaborative efforts between the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, other Government agencies and the private sector have been enhanced to help secure Malaysia’s position as a leading tourist destination and achieve the country’s target of 36 million tourist arrivals and RM168 billion in receipts by 2020.    

The targets set under the Tourism NKEA will be achieved through the implementation of twelve Entry Point Projects (EPPs) clustered under five themes: Affordable Luxury; Nature Adventure; Family Fun; Events, Entertainment, Spa and Sports; and Business Tourism.