India Reinstates E-Visa
When India asked British visa applicants to appear in person at Indian High Commission in London there was chaos among those who had already planned the trip. Most of the people had booked VISA through middlemen to tour companies in the UK as there was no need to be at Indian High Commission in person.
The new term came as a jolt for UK travelers who had already planned the trip. Most of the had very little time to make the trip and no time to visit Indian High Commission. A lot of journeys were canceled this was a sad happening by India is not solely to blame for this.
Thankfully as per news dated December 5 in travel weekly, the e-visa has been reinstated with doorstep service available. Of the total percentage of inbound travelers to India, UK travelers from England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland constitute as much as 50%. The reason is not only familiarity with our country. The familiarity is anyway is decreasing among next-gen travelers. The main reasons are the proximity distance wise, and the prevalence of the English language pan India that invites the British.
The urge to travel may be due to colonial instinct the exploratory zeal is well known among the British. But then inbound tourists visit India from many countries. They come from Western Europe like France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Holland, and some more. Russians also visit India from the Eastern Bloc in good numbers. These are tourists who are interested in tiger safaris and sightseeing while most of the travelers from Buddhist countries in Asia come to visit the holy sites. The traveler from AFPAC visits India for medical tourism.
VISA Tug of War
In order to balance host country travel restrictions tit for tat steps are taken by other countries as well. Although interim disruption is a regular norm between two countries, the loss to both exchequers is significant. The impact hurts the travel services and tour operators the most.
A lot of hotel bookings and tour operator packages were canceled in India. This was a significant loss to the hospitality industry as well as the exchequer. India depends heavily on its inbound tourism sector for foreign exchange, employment to locals, and the health of its hospitality industry that caters to inbound travelers.
The Indian hospitality industry is expected to have a warm winter to the expected arrival of a large number of UK travelers. After the pandemic, this is like a flow of fresh air not only for the hotel industry, the news is good for small service providers like guides, naturalists, taxi services, and the man selling chana on the street corner.
Posts
