A Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) official told media agency, ANI, that the Central government is contemplating plans to start issuing tourist visas soon. This is to bid the travel and tourism sector, which has been badly impacted, since the lockdown.
The MHA is considering this move after the steady decline in daily number of Covid-19 cases in the country. ANI reported that a senior MHA official confirmed that things have been formalised and a meeting has been called in the Ministry of Home Affairs that will be chaired by the Home Secretary on Thursday to discuss plans to resume tourist visas.
The official also stated that the issuance of visas will be done in a phased manner and as per the feasibility, it will be open to all. The government is likely to allow only vaccinated people to apply for tourist visas.
Tourist visas are suspended since March 2020, from the day the first lockdown was announced. Later, several categories of visas like business, employment and others were exempted but tourist visas remained suspended.
Since the pandemic broke out last year, the hospitality and travel industry has been facing stringent closures and rigid restrictions. This has resulted in the permanent closure of almost 25% of hotels and restaurants in the country. Another 20% have still not opened since the first lockdown.
According to Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), 50% of establishments that may have re-opened are suffering heavy losses and their revenues are below 50% of pre-COVID19 levels. It added that the tourism and hospitality industry, which generated close to INR 1,94,881 crore ($ 29.96 billion) Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEE) in 2019 is currently struggling with absolutely negligible FEEs since the last eighteen months.
“It is a positive sign that the MHA is considering to resume issuing tourist visas. October to March is a tourist season in India and if the announcement comes soon it will certainly be a new ray of hope for the industry. After a hiatus of close to two years, the Hospitality industry is all set and eager to welcome tourists,” said Pradeep Shetty, Jt. Hon Secretary of FHRAI.
