Indo-US Tourism Needs Swift Short-Term Visa Approval & More Direct Flights To Boost Travel

New Delhi: Consensus prevailed that there is much potential yet untapped when it comes to the number of direct flights between India and the US in the tourism and hospitality segment, and the visa application process needs to be expedited, said sector experts and officials at the 1st Indo-US Tourism & Hospitality Summit today organized by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) here in New Delhi.

As indicated by the industry participants and officials, despite the fact that India and the US have got strong bilateral relations, with a significant number of persons from both countries traveling to the other, there is enough potential, primarily in terms of aviation exposure.

Commenting on the occasion, the Attorney General of India, Mr. R. Venkataramani, said, "The need of the hour is responsible tourism." He added that India would always play its 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 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 the 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.

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This was said by Mr. Suman Billa, Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Tourism, during a panel discussion on "Outbound Tourism, India to USA". He emphasized that the bilateral relations and travel growth between the two countries leave much space for development.

"So there's a lot that is happening based in India, and I think it's a little surprising even though the numbers are good. So if you look at it from tourism point of view basically, we really haven't capitalized on the potential which we have. I think judging by this potential of what we have, there is probably much more headroom for us to capture," added Mr Billa, saying that the growth in the Indian economy is not likely to slow down, all the more adding to the 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's going to slow down. So I think our natural affinity for the US will bring us closer and open more pathways for us to explore, and I think tourism should be one of those pathways that open the doors for possibility, but to build more understanding between the people of India and the United States," he added.

He noted that, though a US visa is valid for 10 years and thus does not entail frequent updates by a visa holder, the process of getting the visa for the world's largest economy is hugely cumbersome and a tiresome process. He further emphasized the need to have more direct flights between India and the US.

Mr. Jonathan M. Heimer, Minister Counsellor for Commercial Affairs, India U.S. Commercial Service, however, noted that over the past one year, the pace of visa processing application has gained momentum leading towards 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," added Mr. Heimer.

Mr. Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder & Group CEO, MakeMyTrip Limited, also had a view on the visa application process that advocated for the introduction of short-term visas for tourists.

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

Talking of revival of air travel from the Covid induced slowdown, Mr. Harvinder Singh, Director India & Middle East, United Airlines says that all the 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 are, what we have really observed, all these segments are actually going," he said. Mr Singh also stressed on the need for better customer experience with the help of newer technologies and ot

her resources.