The announcement by the Indian High Commission to the UK that e-visas for UK nationals will be restored has been greeted with relief by the travel and tourism industry. It was long overdue. The Covid-19 pandemic had caused immense damage to the tourism industry and the government revoked the e-visa for UK nationals last year as the destination saw a surge in Covid-19 cases. This caused undue hardships for tourists who could not apply for a visa due to the unavailability of slots at the service provider and this led to huge cancellations in October and November this year.
India has e-visa facilities with over 164 countries, and this has eased travel to India. The UK is a very important source market for the Indian inbound industry. According to the Government of India data, in 2019, the UK was the third largest source market for Indian inbound tourism, and it contributed to over 9.1 per cent of the total arrivals, this is a huge market that could not be ignored for long.
India is in the midst of negotiating the UK-Indian Free Trade Agreement and the smooth movement of people between the two countries is one of the priority areas for the agreement to take shape. To this end, India has taken the right decision to restore the e-visa facility.
Travel and tourism have grown over the years and though Covid-19 had derailed overall growth, it has bounced back, and destinations, airlines and hotels are all in a sweet spot as revenge travel has emerged as people travel all over the globe.
Over the years, India has eased visa restrictions for citizens from key markets and the government should now also open up an e-visa facility from Canada, which was suspended in the wake of Covid-19. Canada has taken rapid strides in opening up its destination to Indian travellers and airlines such as Air Canada have announced direct flights from Canada to India. India recently concluded an Open Skies Agreement with Canada, and this is expected to lead to a surge in travel as Indian airlines such as Air India plan to mount flights from India to the destination. All these new flights will aid the travel and tourism industry as well as corporate travel. The government would be well advised to restore the e-visa facility, and this will enable considerable growth in inbound from Canada.
It has been observed that countries that have simplified visa requirements are at a competitive advantage when it comes to attracting tourist traffic. India has liberalized its visa regime much faster than those in the developed world. What we need now is the promotion of India in these countries aggressively as we need to reap the benefits of the opening up of travel. One must also not forget that tourism contributes 10 per cent of Indian employment and that’s a tall order. We need to nurture the industry through policy interventions at the right time.
