Bhubaneswar, May 26: A month after introduction of international flights between Bhubaneswar and Kuala Lumpur, the state government today urged the Centre to provide visa-on-arrival facility to passengers at the airport here.

To facilitate travel of arriving tourists, chief minister Naveen Patnaik today urged external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to include Bhubaneswar as a "visa-on-arrival" station for citizens of eligible nations. "It would encourage people from countries connected by the recently launched international connectivity and boost tourists footfalls to our State," said Naveen Patnaik in a letter to Swaraj.

"There has been a good response to this international connectivity with Indian citizens travelling abroad through Bhubaneswar. A sizeable number of foreign arrivals have also been noticed," said Naveen.

The chief minister was referring to the Malaysia-based airlines Air Asia that had launched a flight between Bhubaneswar and Kuala Lumpur on April 26. Supported by Odisha government, AirAsia is operating its flight on four days - Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Upbeat with the response to the international flight, Naveen had proposed AirAsia to make the flight operation daily.

Not all airports in India provide visa-on-arrival facilities to foreigners who are entitled to it. In India, 24 international airports, which includes Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, Hyderabad, Chennai, Cochin, Goa and Trivandrum, have visa-on-arrival or e-visa facility. Excluding three of our neighbouring countries - Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan - India provides e-visa services to citizens of nearly 150 nations across the world.

In another letter to Union civil aviation Minister A. Gajapathi Raju, the chief minister has requested him to make Bhubaneswar a stopover destination for Air India's Colombo-Varanasi flight.

"This will help in increasing tourist footfalls for both Odisha and Varanasi," he said in a letter to Union civil aviation Minister A. Gajapathi Raju.

Reminding the Centre that Odisha is an important centre for Buddhism, Naveen said: "In the recently held International Buddhist Conclave, the tour operators, academicians and revered monks from Sri Lanka have expressed their strong desire to come to Odisha to explore the Buddhist heritage sites. However, as there is no direct air connectivity, Sri Lankan tourists find it difficult to visit Odisha."

The historic Kalinga War was fought in Odisha following which Emperor Ashoka converted to Buddhism. The emperor had taken upon himself to spread the message of Buddhism across the world, including Sri Lanka, Naveen said.

Besides, Buddhist relic was found near Ratnagiri-Lalitgiri-Udaygiri area, where the remnants of a Buddhist Mahavihar were found.

There are many Buddhist sites in the state that had been attracting tourists from across the world.

Welcoming the state government's initiatives, travel operator Binzanin Simon said: "If the twin facilities come up, it will be an win-win situation for Odisha, the airline and travellers, especially for people from Sri Lanka, for whom Kalinga is very close to their heart". Simon said they had a meeting with Air India authorities in March end in this regard.

Entrepreneur and avid traveller Debasish Patnaik said: "Foreign tourist arrival to Odisha will double if the twin facilities come up".

If the Centre decides to accept the state government's proposal for stopover of Air India's Colombo-Varanasi flight, it would mean added responsibility for the airport authorities.

A senior Bhubaneswar airport official, who did not want to be named, said: "We are prepared to handle more and more flights and tourists."