VoA a ‘Game Changer’ for Hospitality
With India’s hospitality sector struggling with an excess of rooms and declining tariffs, Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) to 180 countries might be a game-changer for the industry by bringing in more tourists and facilitating recovery in the country’s hospitality s
The Government has indicated that it will take five-six months for the respective departments to put in place the requisite infrastructure, in terms of technology and trained personnel. Therefore, we are very hopeful that the scheme will be operationalised, well in time before the onset of peak tourist season in October this year. This modern visa regime acts not as an artificial barrier to entry, but rather serves as a convenient and welcoming gateway for foreign tourists. Leveraging technology to simplify and streamline the tourist visa issuance process offers multiple advantages of speed, efficiency and flexibility, while minimising security related risks. Through forward- looking, decisive and timely regulatory reform, Indian tourism must aim to capitalise on this unprecedented opportunity and leapfrog to a higher growth trajectory. This would, in turn, drive an expansion of economic output, large-scale job creation and increased foreign exchange earnings for our country.
Vivek Nair Honorary Secretary FHRAI
With Visa-on-Arrival scheme for all, now the country can be compared to more mature markets such as Singapore or Malaysia. A lot more people will travel in a much easier way. The number of people travelling to India may go up by 5-10 per cent in the first year itself, but how that will be translated into profit we will come to know only after October. Though the demand for rooms has been largely driven by Indians travelling within the country, we still expect around five per cent rise in occupancies.
Ajay Bakaya Executive Director Sarovar Hotels
The hotel sector expects the move to improve occupancy levels. We have a lot of supply of hotel rooms coming into the market in the next couple of years. This will help fill up the demand-supply gap. Also, easing the relaxed visa regime will boost investment in developing infrastructure. People will invest in hospitality more once the tourist inflow gains momentum.
Akshay Kulkarni Regional Director, Cushman & Wakefield Hospitality-South and South East Asia