Croatia may be gorgeous in June, when the kids have their summer vacation, but if you have just started planning your holiday, it may just be too late for you to hang out on the Adriatic Sea. There is no visa slot open for the next two months. The same holds for several European countries, where delays and strict document requirements leading to rejections, are leaving both travellers and travel agents exasperated and people venting out their frustration on Visa providers for alleged delays.While post-Covid revenge travel, especially to international destinations, continues to hit the roof, getting the Schengen visa has become a problem—especially for certain countries.
Take the case of Croatia, which has become a popular destination and became part of the Schengen agreement last year. “We regularly check for appointment availability and have not been successful in catching even one slot since the beginning of 2024,” says visa and immigration consultant Cyrus Sethna. “If an appointment is miraculously secured, the visa process takes a staggering 60 days before the passport is returned to the traveller.” Dates for Iceland are also not available.
A leading Visa provider firm in India – is facing the heat of customers over the delays.
Travel agents say that people who have been rejected or have not found an opening to apply, are forced to lie about their destinations and sometimes go via the Scandavian countries where slots tend to be more available. But, warns a travel agent, know that you can’t apply to Norway if you really want to go to Spain, because they are geographically too far apart and it is likely that you might get caught out. There’s also a parallel system where some visa agents charge double the price and somehow procure a slot.
“VFS Global does not control processing timelines of visa applications, neither does it control appointment availability. These are governed and controlled by our client governments,” says a VFS Global spokesperson.
“Applicants are advised to beware of fraudulent entities who charge fees from customers for scheduling appointments, using VFS Global’s name or independently.”
Greece is a bit of a hit and miss, say travel agents, pointing out that last year it had halted visa applications for the entire month of May. While some visas are processed quickly, in certain instances, they can take up to six weeks, with no option for expedited service. Another travel agent points out that her client had booked an island-hopping trip in Greece for her family, but the visas got declined and she eventually applied for a Schengen from Hungary, even though Budapest was afar cry from the Grecian agenda. It also was a needlessly additional cost for the family of four.
Solo travellers constitute the majority, representing approximately 65 per cent of visa applications in the UAE, 60 per cent in Egypt, 40 per cent in Singapore, and 45 per cent in Vietnam. Groups of two travellers make up around 20 per cent in the UAE, 30 per cent in Egypt, 25 per cent in Singapore, and 20 per cent in Vietnam.
Last year, Italy opened no appointment slots the entire summer. However, this year they have been lenient, allowing quick appointments to those who have previously held a Schengen visa. But if there is no prior visa, thenthere are virtually no dates. Spain has been fairly consistent about giving visas, but as of now, there are no appointment slots.
Before March, things were quite easy and we were getting slots but suddenly they seem to have disappeared, says travel agent Vipul Bhuva. “I had booked so many tickets thinking that the client wo-uld get the visa and now we have to change the itinerary. But it causes too much anxiety.” Main problem countries tend to be Spain, Italy, France and Switzerland because they are more popular among Indian tourists.
The pile-ups and confusion are forcing vacationers to look at other destinations. Despite the heat, some are op-ting for Asia trips which might take them to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, or travelling to African countries, both of which have eased their visa requirements. Australia and New Zealand are too far. “Pre-Covid, if you wanted to travel in May, you could apply in April, and you’d be fine,” says Sethna. “Clearly, consulates and embassies are not able to keep up with the numbers which are going up every year.”
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Expecting over 1.5 million Indian tourists this year, Singapore is focusing on increasing its hospitality infrastructure such as hotel rooms, and working on seamless and easy visas for them, a senior tourism official said on Wednesday. Before the pandemic-induced lockdown, Singapore had received 1.4 million tourists from India in 2019, which then recovered to 1.1 million in 2023.
In 2024, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) expects the number to go past the 2019 strength even as it acknowledged the potential of getting over 1.5 million visitors though it has not set any target given “the huge tourism potential of the Indian market.”
With three offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai, the STB is working on getting seamless and easy visas for Indian tourists, Poh Chi Chuan, executive director of Exhibition & Conference at the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) told PTI.
The island state is building infrastructure for tourists and business travellers, such as 9,000 new hotel rooms that are being added to about 72,000 existing rooms.
“We need visitors to come and fill these rooms,” Poh underlined and hoped “The flights between India and Singapore get back to the pre-pandemic level.”
New carriers are operating in India and once they start flying internationally, the number of tourists would increase, Poh added at a press conference.
The press conference was held to announce the inaugural APAC edition of the world-renowned National Retail Federation (NRF) Retail Big Show to be held here on June 11-13, six months after NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show in New York City.
Singapore is just not looking at the tourist traffic out of India but also business travellers given that both countries have growing trade and a prospering Indian economy, he said.
“We also see a lot of opportunities coming up in India in sectors such as pharma, BioMed, IT and FinTech. These are very strong industries for Singapore to increase bilateral trade,” said Poh, adding that Singapore has large-scale exhibitions and conferences catering to these sectors covering advanced technologies.
The APAC edition of NRF is expecting between five per cent to 10 per cent of delegates for its 5,000-participant strong Singapore show in June, said Ryf Quail, managing director of the global retail event that is held annually in New York.
The introduction of these codeshare connections enhances travel options for Indian tourists, as well as business and leisure travellers, especially during the upcoming summer season. IndiGo already provides travel options to Singapore, further complemented by seamless connectivity to Qantas’ flights between Singapore and Australia. Both airlines had signed a codeshare agreement in 2022.
Industry stalwarts addressing the mega gathering include Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, the Retailers Association of India, Shireesh Joshi, Chief Business Officer, The Open Network for Digital Commerce, and Mathsy Kutty, APAC Leader, The Climate Pledge, Amazon.
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For all the anticipation that had been building up for months for the Ministry of Tourism hosted 46th PATA Travel Mart 2023, held in New Delhi, the event failed to live up to the hype. Disappointment hung heavy as many participants grappled with mismanagement issues and higher delegate entry fee. Could this be an opportunity lost for the industry that was looking to establish key connections?
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“Almost 1 million foreign tourists came to Moscow in the first half of the year. Over 600 thousand people over the summer alone,” said Evgeny Kozlov, Chairman, The Moscow City Tourism Committee on his recent visit to India.
Kozlov was in India to meet Indian tourism stakeholders and participate in a trade event.
For Russia, the importance of Indian tourists is gradually increasing and the tourism committee is actively looking at engaging the Indian traveller more. According to Kozlov, the tourist traffic from India was growing at 12-15 per cent annually, before Covid-19 put a halt on tourism activities.
Apart from Goa, Aeroflot operates direct flights from Moscow to Delhi throughout the year. The south of India is a popular destination for beach holidays for Russians in the fall and winter. The flights are expected to be in high demand, providing tourists with comfortable and direct access to the Indian Ocean coast. The up-to-date schedule is available on Aeroflot’s website.
“After the pandemic, only 20,000 Indians came to visit Russia. But, now we are on the way to recovery. All the necessary conditions have been created for this. Thanks to e-visa possibilities, more than 3,000 people from India visited Moscow within two months,” he shared. The city hopes to reach the pre-pandemic figures next year and to make that possible, is working closely with the Federal Ministry of Tourism to launch no visa group tourism between our two countries. “We believe that it will stimulate the partnership and eventually, tourism,” he said.
According to Kozlov, an increasing number of Indian businessmen are choosing Moscow as their preferred destination for business events. For Moscow, business tourists account for one fifth of all tourist traffic to the city. At the same time, about 40 per cent of all business tourists return to the city with family or friends.
According to the information shared by The Moscow City Tourism Committee, in 2022, the most frequent business visitors to Moscow from non-CIS countries were from China, Turkey and India. The number of business visits from Asia-Pacific countries showed high growth rates – 14 per cent.
“At present, China is the top tourism source market for Russia followed by the Middle East and then Turkey. India stands at the sixth position. But, with new incentives and promotional push in place, we hope for India to be in the top three tourism markets for us,” he said.
According to Kozlov, the number of tourists from China is six times higher this year than the previous one. The driving factors for the increase have been their growing curiosity to learn more about Russia, group free visa facility and good air connectivity. “We have 50 direct flights to different cities of China from Moscow,” he said.
And now, with growing bilateral cooperation, Russia is looking at replicating the model with India. “We are in touch with the authorities to establish new direct flights from India to Moscow. Because we are ready, all our infrastructure is ready. And now the Indians just have to come and explore our country,” he said.
“Every week we will get six charter flights coming in,” said a representative of one of the tour operators. “Flights from Kazakhstan and one flight from Uzbekistan will also come. This season looks to be good.” Aeroflot will fly to Goa thrice a week from Moscow, and twice from Yekaterinburg. The EU has imposed restrictions on Russians travelling to Europe following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with some countries imposing an outright ban.
Currently, there are 10 direct daily flights from Moscow to India. Of these, seven direct flights connect Moscow to New Delhi and three direct flights connect Moscow to Goa.
“As a region, we would like to have new flight connections to Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Mumbai, to start with. We would like people from both the countries to explore each others’ rituals and traditions and eventually promote tourism,” he said.
Russia as a tourism product, according to Kozlov, is designed to fit all pockets. “Accommodation to suit your pocket is very easy to find in Russia. There are approximately 2,000 hotels in Moscow that can fit into different budgets – from five star to affordable price hotels for group tourists. In fact, it is much better to stay in a hotel rather than an apartment,” said Kozlov.
To push MICE tourism, Moscow is all set to host the international conference Meet Global MICE Congress for the first time on October 6. The participants to this event will include 250 representatives of the business tourism industry from 14 countries, including India, China, Indonesia and Malaysia – the largest number of delegations being from India and China, the city tourism committee shared.
“Additionally, we are implementing an online training and certification program for Moscow MICE Ambassadors, in cooperation with the Association of MICE Agencies of India to promote Moscow as an attractive destination for business tourism. The program is expected to expand to four streams by 2024 and by the end of the year we will already have 200 MICE ambassadors from India,” shared Kozlov.
Film tourism is the next big thing on Moscow’s tourism agenda. “In five years, Moscow will be among the top five destinations for film tourism,” asserted Kozlov. “Our foremost priority is to attract filmmakers to Moscow and show them how easy it is to produce a new film here,” he said, adding that Moscow offers a single window clearance for those interested in shooting a film in the country. Currently, the website is in Russian, but will be available in English in two months.
“In all, we are very serious about developing a strong tourism bond between the two countries and we hope it will be well received by the people of this country,” he concluded.
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In the midst of an escalating diplomatic standoff between India and Canada, the recent suspension of visa services by the Indian government for Canadian citizens is poised to have significant ramifications on inbound tourism to India, particularly as the tourist season approaches.
As the festive tourist season approaches in India, the impact of this visa suspension on inbound tourism remains a focal point, and all stakeholders are keenly observing how the situation evolves in the coming days. The travel and tourism industry, which has been steadily recovering from the effects of the global pandemic, is now faced with another challenge, as the suspension of visa services adds uncertainty to the upcoming tourist season.
Since Canada is a major source market of foreign tourists for India, the Indian tourism industry feels a lot of existing bookings are going to get cancelled or rescheduled. Canada has consistently been one of the leading sources of tourists to India. In 2021, approximately 80,000 Canadian tourists travelled to India, as per data from India’s Bureau of Immigration.
The suspension of visa services encompasses all Canadian nationals planning to visit India who do not possess valid visas, including tourists, students, business travellers, and others. Furthermore, this suspension extends to Canadians located in third countries who intend to apply for an Indian visa, adding to the complexity of the situation.
Commenting on the situation, Jyoti Mayal, Vice Chairperson, FAITH and President, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), said that people are going to become very anxious about the entire situation because they have all planned the trips between India and Canada.
“The move is going to affect tourism a lot. There are a lot of bookings that are already been done. A lot of people’s passports are lying in the embassies. There will be a lot of cancellations coming through. People are going to become very anxious about the entire situation because they have all planned the trips, and it will impact students as well with the presence of a large Indian diaspora in Canada. Parents are going to panic, so I think there’s going to be a lot of turmoil for the next many days till the time there’s a resolution or a solution provided,” she said.
A noteworthy aspect of this development is the burgeoning number of Indians travelling to Canada, especially for educational purposes. Canadian universities have witnessed a steady influx of Indian students, with post-graduate studies being particularly favoured. In 2022, Indians constituted a substantial 40 per cent of the total international students studying in Canada.
In a press conference, Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), informed that the government is closely monitoring the situation and will be reviewing the situation on a regular basis. “Those in Canada who possess valid visas to India or those who have OCIs are free to travel to India,” he added.
The Indian student population in Canada on study visas has surged beyond the 3-lakh mark, underscoring the robust educational ties between the two countries. However, the visa suspension does not affect individuals who already possess a valid Indian visa or hold an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card.
On the other hand, Rajiv Mehra, President, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) said that the visa suspension will adversely affect the foreign tourist arrival in the country as Canada is an crucial tourist source market for India.
“There is no clarity whether travel between both countries will also be suspended after the visa suspension. Booking will get impacted however we are waiting for more clarity on the issue. For those planning travel to India, it would adversely impact the foreign tourist arrival as Canada is a major source market for us,” he mentioned.
Crucially, the duration of the visa suspension remains uncertain, contingent on the resolution of the diplomatic impasse between India and Canada. No official announcement has been made regarding the timeline for the resumption of visa services.
Additionally, amidst the diplomatic discord, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has urged Indian students residing in Canada to register with the High Commission of India or Consulates General of India through the #MADAD portal. This directive seeks to ensure the welfare and safety of Indian students in light of the ongoing tensions between the two nations.
The escalating diplomatic row between India and Canada has left many families in Punjab anxious. Canada is one of the preferred countries for people from Punjab to study and settle down. The Indian government’s latest move to suspend visa services in Canada has also upset the plans of Canadian citizens who wish to visit their native places in Punjab.
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