Covid-19: No SOP yet for 5 lakh free visas for foreign travellers – Times of India
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CHENNAI: Though the UAE, Sri Lanka and Maldives have initiated the revival of welcoming international tourists post-Covid-19, the Union government has not released modalities and SOP for issuing 5 lakh free visas for foreign travellers before March 2022.
This is having an impact on reviving the inbound tourism vertical as one month of the crucial peak tourism month between September and March is over. Non resumption of scheduled international flights is another major bottleneck in revival of inbound tourism since only limited number of aircraft are operated under the ‘air bubble’ during the pandemic.
Tamil Nadu, in particular, is one of the most affected states in the country due non revival of inbound tourism as the state is a numero uno in attracting the highest number of foreign tourists for 6 years till 2019 before Covid-19.
The demand for flying to Dubai and Maldives is on the rise, while Sri Lanka has reopened its borders for international travellers. Chennaibased tourist operator Sriharan Balan, managing director of Madura Travel Service said that the demand for tourists from Malaysia, France and the UK was encouraging soon after announcement on 5 lakh free visas in June.
“While the Tamil diaspora from Malaysia wanted to visit Tamil Nadu for spiritual tourism, we received enquiries from our overseas agents in France and UK for individual travellers and those planning to explore India in small groups,” he said. Now, our concentration regarding international tourism is on quarantine packages for the UK, USA and Canada through other countries and tourist visits to Dubai, he said adding that the biggest challenge was substantial spike in air fare.
Kamal R Jadhwaniz vice president, Travel Agents Federation of India said, “Absence of scheduled international flights has become a hassle for resumption of travel. The fares are high because fewer flights are there that too air bubble flights. We are hoping that the government will lift the restriction after October 31. The government should resume scheduled flights and also should push for the countries to approve Covaxin. A lot of people are not able to travel as they have to undergo quarantine abroad.”
Subash Goyal, president of New Delhi based Confederation of Tourism Professionals said, “We have lost at least US $50 billion of foreign exchange through inbound tourism after Covid-19. Though the government announced that 5 lakh free visas would be issued for international travellers before March 2022, it is yet to be rolled out.”
This is having an impact on reviving the inbound tourism vertical as one month of the crucial peak tourism month between September and March is over. Non resumption of scheduled international flights is another major bottleneck in revival of inbound tourism since only limited number of aircraft are operated under the ‘air bubble’ during the pandemic.
Tamil Nadu, in particular, is one of the most affected states in the country due non revival of inbound tourism as the state is a numero uno in attracting the highest number of foreign tourists for 6 years till 2019 before Covid-19.
The demand for flying to Dubai and Maldives is on the rise, while Sri Lanka has reopened its borders for international travellers. Chennaibased tourist operator Sriharan Balan, managing director of Madura Travel Service said that the demand for tourists from Malaysia, France and the UK was encouraging soon after announcement on 5 lakh free visas in June.
“While the Tamil diaspora from Malaysia wanted to visit Tamil Nadu for spiritual tourism, we received enquiries from our overseas agents in France and UK for individual travellers and those planning to explore India in small groups,” he said. Now, our concentration regarding international tourism is on quarantine packages for the UK, USA and Canada through other countries and tourist visits to Dubai, he said adding that the biggest challenge was substantial spike in air fare.
Kamal R Jadhwaniz vice president, Travel Agents Federation of India said, “Absence of scheduled international flights has become a hassle for resumption of travel. The fares are high because fewer flights are there that too air bubble flights. We are hoping that the government will lift the restriction after October 31. The government should resume scheduled flights and also should push for the countries to approve Covaxin. A lot of people are not able to travel as they have to undergo quarantine abroad.”
Subash Goyal, president of New Delhi based Confederation of Tourism Professionals said, “We have lost at least US $50 billion of foreign exchange through inbound tourism after Covid-19. Though the government announced that 5 lakh free visas would be issued for international travellers before March 2022, it is yet to be rolled out.”
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