TOURISM INDIA MARCH 2019 TOURISM INDIA FEBRUARY 2019 | Page 42

TRAVELLERS WILL
RECEIVE THEIR TRAVEL
AUTHORISATION
ONLINE PRE-
DEPARTURE WITHIN 24
TO 72 HOURS.
Mr. Zubin Karkaria, CEO, VFS Global
hours of application being submitted.
A new ‘Express eVisa On Arrival’
service is also available by paying
an additional service fee. Eligible
travellers can get their eVOA decision
within 24 hours for any short notice
travel requirements.
The new Thailand eVisa On
Arrival offers travellers a whole
new experience when applying for a
travel pre-authorisation to Thailand
and when entering the country at
the Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueng
airports in Bangkok, as well as at
Phuket and Chiang Mai airports flying
by Thai Airways and other airlines.
eVOA applicants benefit from
dedicated Immigration counters at
major airports in Thailand to save
time and experience a faster entry
into Thailand. Due to the smooth
online eVOA application process
pre-departure, travellers don’t need
to carry any physical copies like hotel
booking confirmation or air-tickets,
photographs etc. Since the eVOA
fee was paid online, no cash in local
40
Tourism India February 2019
currency is required at the immigration
counter.
Commenting on the launch of
the new eVOA service, Pol. Lt. Gen.
Surachate HAKPARN, Commissioner
of Immigration Bureau, said “‌With
the eVOA service, we are proud to
offer a new age digital solution which
enhance the overall experience for
the modern day traveller who seeks
to visit Thailand from 21 countries
across the globe. In our cooperation
with the world’s largest outsourcing
and technology services specialist
for governments and diplomatic
missions worldwide - VFS Global, we
aim to effectively meet the objective
of increasing tourism to the country
through this solution especially taking
into consideration the all-important
security aspect that allows pre-check of
travellers prior the arrival, as it offers
time to the Immigration Bureau for
effective assessment.”
Mr. Zubin Karkaria, CEO, VFS
Global, said “It is an honour to
work with the Immigration Bureau
of Thailand and Thai Airways to
ensure a more convenient and faster
service for travellers to Thailand,
while maintaining the security and
integrity of the visa process. With our
experience and reliability in providing
seamless visa application services
across the world, and with the
advantages of our eVisa solution, the
Thailand eVOA service will further
enhance ease of travel to Thailand,
and thereby facilitate increase in
tourism to the country. In addition,
we are proud to be associated with
the Royal Thai Embassy with whom
we already share a long-standing
relationship since 2005 and provide
visa services across 27 cities in four
countries through a strong network
of 27 Visa Application Centres. As
an organisation, we continue to
support the economic growth and
development of Thailand through our
operations within Thailand where we
employ 326 Thai nationals - of which
96 are dedicated resources for the
new eVOA service.”