Requests have been made to increase the validity of the first five lakh free visas announced by the Union Finance Minister last year, as it nears expiry on March 31
IATO, TAAI, TAFI, FHRAI, and FHRAI – in fact, the Indian travel and tourism associations have welcomed the government’s decision to allow regular international commercial flights after almost two years.
While most have said that the move will enhance the number of foreign tourists to come to India, many have appealed to the government to relax visa rules. Requests have been made to increase the validity of the first five lakh free visas announced by the Union Finance Minister last year, as it nears expiry on March 31. The travel trade has also requested the government to increase the validity of tourist visas, allow multiple entries instead of single entry applicable currently and most important, open e-Visa for the countries like UK and Canada, which have been key tourist source markets for the country pre-Covid.
While it is still early days, a lot has to be done to get back to the pre-Covid numbers. The travel industry is hopeful that Indian tourism will get back on track and there should not be any further delay or postponement in resuming the scheduled international commercial flights.
“The outbound sector in India has suffered immensely in the last two years and we are all hopeful that the surge in travel will help us to revive at least some bit of our losses.”
— Rajiv Mehra, President, Indian Association of Tour Operators
The move to allow international flights will also see a boost in outbound tourism from India. Fares will stabilize – they have risen due to a number of reasons: high ATF prices, ban on Russian airspace, high VAT on ATF — and the number of flights too will rise.
Rajiv Mehra, President, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), said that the move was a big relief for the entire travel and tourism fraternity, especially inbound tourism, which had zero billings over the last two years. “We look forward to the revival of international tourism in the country. Further to enhance the foreign tourist flow to the country, we urge the government to restore all visas that were issued earlier but were suspended due to pandemic. Besides we appeal to the government to resume multiple entry visas and e-Visa for the countries which have been barred particularly from the source markets like the UK, Canada, etc. We also request the government to extend the validity of free Tourist Visa till 31st March 2024 without capping of 5 lakh free tourist visas,” he was quoted saying to ET.
Ajay Prakash, President, Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), said that the start of international flights was a huge relief. “We hope that health requirements will also be tweaked adequately and that all airlines will now move swiftly to restore schedules and capacity. Unfortunately, we lost the entire incoming season and inbound tour operators will have to survive somehow for another six months but the resumption of flights spells some hope for the summer outbound summer travel season. The Rupee sadly has depreciated significantly and that will make foreign travel more expensive but hopefully, the capacity increase might bring down international airfares to more realistic levels to even things out. There is a tremendous pent-up demand, and we should see a significant uptick in bookings,” he said.
Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), said that the esumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services from March 27 was a welcome relief. “The industry was anxiously awaiting an announcement on this since the early bird gets the worm. Foreign Exchange Earnings for the last two financial years has been entirely wiped out due to restrictions which also forced approximately 30 per cent of hotels & restaurants to shut business and millions lost their jobs. The hospitality industry’s total revenue in FY 2019-20 stood at INR 1.82 lakh crore and it employed over 50 million people. During the period, the tourism and hospitality industry reported forex earnings of USD 30 billion making it India’s third-largest foreign exchange earner. The latest announcement has come as a ray of hope for hospitality businesses and those employed in the sector.”
Riaz Munshi, President, Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI), said, “With the opening up of world tourism, relaxation in Covid restrictions and India coming on the Green List of most countries, we feel that the announcement regarding starting scheduled international flights couldn’t have come at a better time. We are extremely thankful to the Union Civil Aviation Minister for his persistent efforts. The resumption of international scheduled flights will boost the confidence of Indian traveller, who is yearning for an international holiday. The outbound sector in India has suffered immensely in the last two years and we are all hopeful that the surge in travel will help us to revive at least some bit of our losses.”
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