Thumbs up to VoA for US travellers
The travel and tourism stakeholders in India are visibly upbeat and energised after hearing the PM on US soil. The announcement that Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card-holders will get lifetime visas and American tourists to India will soon get Visas-on-A
As Prime Minister
Narendra Modi got a rousing welcome from some 20,000 cheering NRIs when he addressed them from a 360-degree rotating platform at the iconic Madison Square Garden, the people back home also raised a toast to his tourism-friendly policy back home. The travel and tourism stakeholders in India are visibly upbeat and energised after hearing the PM on the US soil. The announcement that Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card-holders will get lifetime visas and American tourists to India will soon get visas on arrival is of great significance.
The US citizens are one of the higher spenders in the world with per capita spending at $1,350 in 2012. The US is also the largest source of foreign tourists to India, accounting for a share of 15.8 per cent or about one million tourists.
Dipak Deva, CEODestination Management, India & South Asia, Kuoni Destination Management pointed out that this has been a promising announcement. “The Visa-onArrival proposal was already declared in the Union Budget
2014, but we are glad as a fraternity that the US is also going to be a part of this decision. Apart from the VoA plan, the PM also talked about the importance of hygiene and sanitation facilities. This is also of direct relevance to the travel and tourism industry,” Deva affirmed. According to Vikram
Madhok, Managing Director, Abercrombie & Kent, if tourists from the US to India get VoA soon, this will be a game changer for the tourism industry in the country. “The US is our largest source market. This has created quite a buzz in the industry,” he opined. Regarding a direct impact on the number of queries from this market, Madhok replied, “This directly has not led to an increase in queries from the US market. The Americans are also more organised than many other markets. So we need to understand that people will not just simply travel from the US to India because there has been a new announcement. Till the modalities of the visa regime are put in place, we will not see the increase and that is why we need to push the government to introduce the measure soon.” As per Prashant Narayan, COO and Head, Leisure Travel- Inbound Business, Thomas Cook India, “Such initiatives are vital for building critical mass momentum and infusing much- needed demand into the inbound sector. Currently, the US contributes to about 14 per cent of the inbound traffic to India. This facility is certainly expected to add great impetus to US arrival figures, leading to a remarkable spurt in inbound traffic.”
The country will see at least a 20 per cent increase in inbound from the US when this is put in practice, Homa Mistry, CEO, Trail Blazer Tours India opined. “However, there is a big disconnect as at the same time, India has introduced a biometric check in Europe, starting Setember 1. Thus, the measure needs to be implemented soon,” he adhered. Raising a valid point, Mistry also pointed out that there might be other challenges once the initiative is implemented. “For example— India started VoA facility for South Korea this year. South Korea became the 12th country to get VoA in India. The aim was to give a boost to inbound from this country. However, in reality, there are a few glitches. We are only giving single-entry visa and the travellers from South Korea, are usually Buddhists and would like to include Lumbini in Nepal in their itinerary. Thus, this becomes a roadblock,” he lamented.
“This move will provide a boost to both the inbound and domestic tourism business in India, which will in turn benefit most service providers in the tourism chain,” Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, Jagsons Travels commented.