ETW Staff – Mumbai
The Government of Malaysia has introduced visa on arrival (VOA) facility for visiting Indians from January 1, 2014. This announcement is in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia Year 2014 and the Year of Festivals 2015. The VOA facility is applicable for those travelling to Malaysia from a third country; namely Singapore and Thailand; holding valid visas for the respective countries and having confirmed return tickets to India.
Speaking of this development, Manoharan Periasamy, director, Tourism Malaysia said, “Destinations with ease of visa issuance are popular, and the choice of a holiday destination is most often decided on the factor of ease of Visa approval. Malaysia has always been a popular destination among Indians and with the reintroduction of VOA, we hope to see more Indians considering Malaysia even as a short break destination for long weekends and last minute travel plans. This relaxation in visa restrictions is mainly for families and groups travelling to Malaysia on a vacation and for businessmen.”
Visiting Indian tourists can avail of Visa on Arrival at all major airports of Malaysia namely Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Low cost Terminal LCCT (KLIA), Penang International Airport, Sultan Ismail International Airport, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu International Airport, Sabah and Kuching International Airport, Sarawak.
Indian market is a significant contributor and has proven to be a strong and viable venture for inbound into Malaysia. With this new announcement of VOA, the Malaysian Government is expecting the number of tourist arrivals to increase significantly.
