CAA announces on-arrival visas to tourists from 24 countries

Austria, Canada, France, Japan, UK and USA are among the countries included

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Friday announced that Pakistan is now offering visas to people travelling in groups from 24 different countries.

"Tourists to Pakistan are an asset for us," the official notification read.

https://twitter.com/AirportPakistan/status/954250280547311617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dawn.com%2Fnews%2F1383952

According to the notification posted by CAA on Twitter, if the tour is organised through designated tour operators in Pakistan, the tourists will be granted multiple-entry visa for 30 days. Tourists from Austria, Canada, France, Japan, UK and USA are among the 24 countries which will be eligible for the visas.



The tourists are advised to talk to one of the Immigration Officers or the designated Visa Office on arrival for additional information.

As security improves, annual tourist arrivals to Pakistan have more than tripled since 2013 to 1.75 million in 2016, while domestic travelers rose 30 per cent to 38.3 million, according to the state-owned Pakistan Tourism Development Corp. The World Travel and Tourism Council puts the total contribution of tourism to Pakistan’s economy at $19.4 billion in 2016 or 6.9 per cent of gross domestic product. In a decade, the WTTC expects that to rise to $36.1 billion.

Earlier this month, The British Backpacker Society ranked Pakistan number one out of 20 other adventure travel destinations because they consider Pakistan one of the friendliest countries in the world with mountain scenery that is beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.