India will offer visa-on-arrival (VOA) to South Korean tourists at its major airports for their convenience starting from next week, its embassy in Seoul said Thursday.

The decision was made during South Korean President Park Geun-hye's state visit to India in January to improve ties between the two nations, the Indian embassy said.

Korean visitors will be able to apply for a single entry tourist visa available for one month on arrival at eight airports for a fee of US$60 or the equivalent amount in Indian Rupees.

The facility will be available at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi airports.

Visitors can apply for the visa on arrival up to twice in a year, with a minimum of a two month gap between the visits.

Tourists can also apply for the VOA online prior to their travel through the Indian Visa Application Center (http://www.blsindiavisa.kr/).

"The facility will not be applicable to holders of diplomatic or official passports whose travel will continue to be governed by the existing agreement on the matter between the two countries," the embassy said in a release.

The latest move also comes after India's government decided to extend the country's limited visa-on-arrival scheme to tourists from 180 countries starting from October in an attempt to boost tourism and business. (Yonhap)