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Indian visa regime simplification will give a boost to development of Russian tourism

08:07, 27 апреля 2012

As we already reported, from October this year Russian tourists might be receiving Indian visa directly at the airports of the largest cities of the country – Deli, Mumbai, Chennai, and Calcutta.

 

Operators working with this destination reported to RATA-news that for now there is no official notification on it neither from Indian partners, nor from the Indian Consulate in Moscow. However, according to them, the visa regime simplification will undoubtedly positively affect the tourist flow. Bringing “airport” visas into service will most likely lead to the increase of regular transportation to Deli. This will give additional possibilities for expanding the range of offers, which finally will lead to the cost reduction of tour packages. Moreover, there will be possibility of last-minute sales which now is impossible due to the current visa regulations.

 

Manager of the South-East Asia Department of Astravel Company, Lilya Ilyukhina, believes that receiving visa at the airport will redistribute the clients in favor of independent traveling: “Less people will go to specialists when organizing their vacation. Already now everything can be booked via internet, and if the visa regime is simplified, I think, the general tourist flow will increase, but that via travel agents will go down”. According to her, Indian visa application is not a difficult procedure now, but it requires at least five business days. The company notes the increase in demand for travelling about India by 20-25% if compared to the previous year.

 

The Commercial Director of the South Cross Company, Eugeniy Kosinkov forecasts the increase in sightseeing tourism and theme tours to India: “We’re more interested to work with higher budget excursion destinations as, for example, Kerala”. He is sure that for more complicated tours client will go to the travel agency anyway and those who prefer to travel around the country on their own or to sunbathe at Goa beaches for several months are already using on-line booking. “Winter season didn’t differ in demand from previous three-five seasons. According to statistics, the amount of tourists has grown, but, most likely, due to the independent tourists or business travellers which are not so interesting for the tour operators”, - assures Eugeniy Kosinkov.

 

According to the manager of South Asia Department of Quinta Tour Company, Stanislav Dikov, the claims on the simplification of visa regime from Indian side should be taken with caution, as the Indian side has already made such statements and moreover, was constantly changing the conditions of document submission and terms of tourist staying in the country. Yet if there is a relaxation of the visa regime, the expert deems, it will lead to the growth of the Russians' interest towards excursion tours to India. “Maybe, these four airports are not so important for those tour operators who are loading charters to Goa, but for those who work with FITs it’s a positive news”, - noted Mr. Dikov.

 

The last high season in India turned out to be very successful for Quinta Tour, whose sales increased by 50-60% compared to the previous winter. Our interlocutor drew attention to the fact that there are almost no visa refusals, but the Consulate sometimes asks for additional documents and invites some applicants to come to an interview. In addition, the entry to the country is now limited by two-month break after the last visit.

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