Expats hail India’s revised travel rules
T ravels agents and expats say the new Covid-19 travel guidelines by India will facilitate ease of flying from the UAE.
Mir Wasim Raja, manager, International Travel Services, said business travellers in particular will benefit from the revised guidelines for international arrivals in India.
India revised travel protocols for its inbound international travellers on October 20. Passengers must upload a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR report that have been conducted within 72 hours prior to undertaking the journey. The revised travel protocols will be effective from October 25.
Wasim also highlighted that many tourists from India are coming to the UAE to visit the Expo 2020 and other tourist attractions and return will be easier for them. “Many groups are arriving from India and Europe to the UAE The Expo is one of the major attractions now, and tourists are eager to get a glimpse of other new attractions such as Ain Dubai, which opened on Thursday, and Madam Tussauds, which is scheduled to open soon,” he said.
“Travelers from India are mostly leisure groups, while European tourists are flocking for leisure and corporate purposes,” Wasim added.
Taha Siddique, owner of Siddique Travels, based in Karnataka, India, said the new rules are a relief for travellers. “As it is a vacation period, many of my clients are flying to the UAE to visit the Expo 2020 and for shopping. The 48-hours PCR test was troublesome as travellers had packed schedules, in addition to last-minute shopping and packing. The 72-hour validity for PCR test would be a great relief for travellers and they can plan their trip in a better way.”
Jaffer Sadiq, a businessman from Bengaluru said that he often travels to Dubai for business and has tight schedule, so the new PCR test rule. “It was very hectic to get the PCR test done in the last two days as I travel only for 3-5 days on a regular basis. A few times I had to do the PCR test at the last minute before returning to India, but the lab people were helpful in providing the results in just four hours.”