India opens to foreign tourists after 20 months
NEW DELHI: India on Monday opened to foreign tourists from countries with reciprocal agreements ater a 20-month ban because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
India on Monday reported 10,229 fresh cases and 125 deaths in the last 24 hours, said the Ministry of Health and Family welfare on Monday morning.
With the addition of 125 new deaths, the death toll has climbed to 4,63,655.
Tour operators said, however, that demand was extremely sluggish due to high ticket prices and remaining restrictions on travellers from Britain, China and elsewhere.
The country famous for the Taj Mahal, desert palaces and tiger reserves barred all foreign tourists in March 2020 as the pandemic intensified.
But ater a devastating spike in Covid-19 cases earlier this year, the number of known infections has fallen sharply and the government, under pressure from an industry that is an important pillar of the economy, last month announced a loosening.
Tourist visas were issued for fully vaccinated foreigners from countries with reciprocal arrangements arriving on charter flights from Oct.15.
This was widened to include other flights on Monday.
Visitors from the approved countries can acquire a tourist visa online and need only monitor their health for 14 days ater arrival.
But those from Britain, the European Union, China, Brazil, South Africa and elsewhere are subject to additional measures including Covid tests on arrival.
The first half a million visas were also free. Rajeev Mehra, president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, said that arrivals were expected to reach only around five per cent of pre-pandemic levels in the coming months.
“We are geting inquiries and we are giving them quotations but when they see expensive airfares, they tell us will try and come later,” Mehra said.
“If things remain stable globally, we expect a full house during October 2022 season.”
Goa, a popular tourist destination in southern India, will see its first charter flight from Britain land on Dec.13, the Times of India reported in late October.
To encourage travelers to visit India, the government plans to issue 500,000 free visas through next March.
The moves are expected to boost the tourism and hospitality sector which was battered by the pandemic.