Author: Swati Mathur
Publication: The Times of India
Date: February 20, 2019
URL:      https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/why-more-countries-are-welcoming-indian-visitors/articleshow/68072297.cms

If you still haven’t zeroed in on the destination you’d like to explore when you head out this summer, remember this: Your Indian passport will grant you visa-free entry into 25 countries, and visa on arrival to 39 more nations across the globe.

The 2019 Passport Index, which ranks passports of 199 countries on the basis of their Visa-Free Scores and their ranking on the UNDP human development index, shows the Indian passport has steadily strengthened over the past five years, jumping 10 ranks from 77 in 2015, to 67 in 2019. It was 68 last year.

This year, while Indian tourists still need visas to enter 134 countries in the world, industry voices say more and more countries are opening up to Indian tourists, cognisant of their ability to spend as well as to return home. “One of the reasons for this improvement is that foreign governments don’t view Indian travellers with suspicion and welcome Indian tourists. They are of the opinion that Indians who come to their country do so for leisure or business and return home,” said Karan Anand, head of relationships, Cox & Kings Ltd.
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FOR 166 NATIONS, EASY ENTRY TO INDIA
 
25 countries Visa-free
39 countries Visa-on-arrival
134 countries Visa required
 
The UAE passport, ranked No. 1, allows holders to travel to 167 countries (113 visa-free; 54 visa-on-arrival) for which they need not obtain a visa beforehand. UAE citizens need apply for visas for only 31 countries. In 2018, UAE secured 36 visa waivers that saw it rise to the top of the powerful passports list, ahead of the likes of Germany (No. 2), France and US (No. 3)

No. 67/ India's passport power rank in the passportindex.org website. In 2018, India added 11 countries where its citizens can go without prior visa
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Among SAARC nations India is second only to the Maldives (No. 51) in passport power. Maldivian can visit 84 countries visa-free (VF) or with visa-on-arrival (VoA). Here's the ranking of the other SAARC members and number of nations they can visit without prior visa

BHUTAN/ No. 69; VF, VoA: 62
BANGLADESH/ No. 86; 43 countries
NEPAL/ No. 82; 47 countries
PAKISTAN/ No. 91; 36 countries
SRI LANKA/ No. 83; 46 countries
AFGHANISTAN/ No. 93; 30 countries

How many passports does India welcome without visa?

166/ No. of countries whose citizens can visit India visa-free, or with visa on arrival or e-visa

No. 19/ India's rank in the welcoming countries' list

* Top of this list are the likes of Bolivia, Cambodia, Qatar and a bunch of African nations all of which allow people from 198 countries to visit with no prior visa requirement

Source: passportindex.org
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Over 50 international tourism boards have set up their offices in India and work closely with tour operators and their governments to promote their destination in the Indian market. One of the factors that contributes to this growth, Anand said, is also the ease with which visas are issued. A small East European country like Azerbaijan, for instance, grants tourists visas to Indians in just three hours.

Even as Indians hope for increasing their global mobility, the Indian government has opened its arms to foreign tourists with increased vigour. The tourism ministry has extended e-tourist visa facilities to 166 countries, up from 46 nations in 2014, a decision that follows a series of amendments in India’s e-visa regime, liberalised to make the process more tourist friendly and double foreign tourist arrival figures by 2021.

Industry insiders, therefore, point to the need for greater reciprocity and emphasise the need for the Indian government to open diplomatic channels and push harder to make the Indian passport more noted and accepted.