Boosting Indo-US Tourism: Experts Call For Swifter Visas And More Direct Flights

India and the US have a lot of unexploited potential in the tourism and hospitality space, and more direct flights between the two countries and a swifter visa application process are the need of the hour to boost the segment, said sector experts and officials at the 1st Indo-US Tourism & Hospitality Summit, organized by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) today in New Delhi.

Industry participants and officials noted that although India and the US have robust bilateral relations, and a large number of people from both countries visit the other, there is enough scope, primarily in terms of aviation experience.

Addressing the event, the Attorney General of India, Mr. R. Venkataramani, stressed the need for responsible tourism. He emphasized that India would continue to play a role in building a cohesive and peaceful world, wherein tourism would be a key factor.

“India is beginning to build a world of togetherness. So, how do we therefore build a world of togetherness in which all of us have equal regard. Each country, each community, each faith have equal regard for each and every one of us. And from that equal regard what do we get is equal reward for our relationships. It can be equal reward in terms of market, in terms of commerce, industry. So I think India stands for equal regard and equal reward principle and I think tourism is probably one umbrella where we can talk more and more about it. And to project India’s position in it.”

“I think it’s important for us to spread this message of goodwill and togetherness. What else can be a better package than a tourism package? I think all of us can build into it, weave into it, and be part of India’s global journey towards a higher level of togetherness at the global level.”

Speaking at the program, Dr. Lalit Bhasin, Immediate Past National President of IACC, outlined his association with the tourism and hospitality space. “My association with tourism, hospitality is nearly of 6 decades, when I started practicing law,” he said.

In a panel discussion on “Outbound Tourism, India to USA,” Mr. Suman Billa, Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Tourism, highlighted the strong bilateral partnership and the growth in travel between the two countries. He noted that there is significant headroom for progress in this space.

“So there’s a lot that is happening based in India and I think it is a little bit surprising even though the numbers are good. If you look at it from a tourism perspective, we really have not capitalized on the potential that we have. I think judging by the potential of what we have, there is probably much more headroom for us to capture,” Mr. Billa said, adding that the growth in the Indian economy is unlikely to slow down, adding all the more potential for growth in outbound tourism.

“India has been the fastest growing of the lot. And nothing in the market seems to suggest that it is going to slow down. So I think our natural affinity to the US will draw us closer and will open more pathways for us to explore. I think tourism should be one of those pathways which will open the doors for more understanding between the people of India and the United States,” he added.

He noted that although a US visa is valid for 10 years and does not require frequent updates by a visa holder, the process of obtaining a visa for the world’s largest economy remains cumbersome and tiresome. He also stressed the need for more direct flights between India and the US.

Mr. Jonathan M. Heimer, Minister Counsellor for Commercial Affairs, India U.S. Commercial Service, noted that over the past year, the pace of visa application processing has gained momentum, leading to record visa issuances. “On the backend for the application processing, we’ve been able to process something like 60% more visas with more or less the same resources. And also we have issued more than 1.1 million visas in the last year, which for us, is a record and that’s just going to continue to go up that number,” Mr. Heimer added.

In response to the issue of the visa application process, Mr. Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder & Group CEO, MakeMyTrip Limited, suggested the introduction of short-term visas for tourists.

“There are many other countries which have done it; maybe a short-term tourist visa can be quick, and that could be one potential innovation that can happen as well,” he said. Speaking in favor of boosting international tourism, he said that international travel is not growing at the cost of domestic travel.

Talking about the revival of air travel from the Covid-induced slowdown, Mr. Harvinder Singh, Director India & Middle East, United Airlines, noted that all three key segments of air travel—business, students, and leisure—have picked up and gained momentum.

“What we see in terms of the segmentation there is business, there is the student along with the leisure part, and what we have really observed is all these segments are actually going,” he said. Mr. Singh also stressed the need for better customer experience with the help of newer technologies and other resources.

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