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The new visa will make travel in the GCC area more affordable and convenient for tourists.
Kerala government and the Maritime Board envisage a shipping service that allows passengers from various GCC countries to reach Kerala in 3 – 4 days.
It will do away with the requirement of separate visas to six countries and also slash costs, in the process facilitating more travel, especially by industrialists.
The announcement was made by the minister at the Future Hospitality summit held in Abu Dhabi.
It is proposed to consider the entire GCC area as a single region instead of separate countries for tourism purposes.
Overall, though, the total remittances from Indian workers abroad was $8.3 billion in 2020, a drop of only 0.2 per cent from the previous year.
One of the tankers, the Front Altair, carrying a cargo of petrochemical feedstock, was ablaze in waters between Gulf Arab states and Iran.