The system upgrade process is underway, and the Indian visa website will soon be ready to receive applications for e-visas from British passport holders
PRAVASISAMWAD.COM
The Indian High Commission in London recently announced that e-visas for UK travellers were being reinstated. The move comes after a gap of almost three years. Even so, the travel trade in India has welcomed the move amid a massive rush for visas to India in recent months.
The system upgrade process is underway, and the Indian visa website will soon be ready to receive applications for e-visas from British passport holders.
The move will ease travel for visitors, but ET reported, how much difference it makes to the cause of inbound tourism in India in the ongoing season and how much tourism promotion and marketing is required to shoot up numbers will have to be seen.
Leading travel trade associations welcomed the move, which has been their prime demand in recent months. Appreciating the government, Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI said that the decision was long pending and it would help ease up travel to India for foreigners. “TAAI appreciates the government’s decision to restart the e-visa for travel from the United Kingdom to India. A decision which was long pending and because of which a lot of inbound business has been affected negatively. Ease of travel is of utmost importance in today’s times and depriving of e-visa, long wait for the visa, difficult documentation and stringent policies all affect tourism adversely. During my visit to London, I discussed with Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami the issue of e-visas, quick turnaround of visas, visas at the doorstep & many more opportunities of promoting more footfalls into India. We truly welcome this decision of opening of the e-visas and hope we will be able to promote growth in the current season of inbound travel,” she stated.
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With Goa being one of the top choices for UK tourists, the move will also help inbound tourism in the state this season.
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Stakeholders feel more charters coming from the UK will defiantly boost the numbers.
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“We thank Chief Minister, Tourism Minister and Government of Goa for their efforts in restoring e-visa for UK which will help in getting more tourists from the UK on charter and scheduled flights into Goa,” Neelesh Shah, President, Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, was quoted saying in the ET report.
The President, TAFI, also welcomed the move and mentioned that an intensive promotional campaign in the UK was required by the Indian government so that more and visitors choose India as their next destination. “The UK used to one of our biggest markets for inbound tourism and I’m glad that the e-visa facility is finally being reinstated for British citizens. It’s an extremely competitive world, and more so post-Covid when every country is vying to promote itself as a safe, attractive, and welcoming destination. We did virtually no promotion overseas over the last two and a half years and, as a consequence. India isn’t on top of most international tourists’ lists. We are at 30 per cent of the 2019 numbers in terms of inbound tourism and we have lost half the season already. I hope that the e-visa facility for UK passport holders is restored immediately and that it can be coupled with an intensive promotional campaign in the UK so that we may salvage something yet,” he told ET.
With Goa being one of the top choices for UK tourists, the move will also help inbound tourism in the state this season. Stakeholders feel more charters coming from the UK will defiantly boost the numbers. “We thank Chief Minister, Tourism Minister and Government of Goa for their efforts in restoring e-visa for UK which will help in getting more tourists from the UK on charter and scheduled flights into Goa,” Neelesh Shah, President, Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, was quoted saying in the ET report.
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