Category Archives: Visa

Minister of State for Tourism & Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Shripad Yesso Naik held a bilateral meeting with Md. Mahbub Ali, State Minister for Civil Aviation & Tourism. It stressed on the deep cultural bond between the two nations. It also outlined the major infrastructure initiatives which have been taken by respective governments. The discussions stressed the possibility of further collaboration on tourism via inland rivers, and visa facilities to facilitate long-haul travel for visitors.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) gathered leading Travel & Tourism stakeholders and G20 Ministers in a Public-Private Dialogue in Goa today to address the sector’s vast potential and challenges. Joined by India’s Minister of Tourism, the Hon. G. Kishan Reddy, and UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO commended India’s Ministry of Tourism for its leadership during India’s G20 Presidency and highlighted Travel & Tourism’s substantial contribution not only to the global economy but to employment. Currently representing 9.2% of the world’s GDP and supporting one in every 11 jobs globally, the sector is experiencing remarkable growth, outpacing the global economy by growing twice as fast. Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “It is proven where governments and the private sector work together in Travel & Tourism the economy is stronger, jobs are created, and people get to enjoy and understand other cultures. “Together, businesses and governments can build back a better, stronger, and more resilient sector. Governments also heard first-hand the value of having streamlined visa processes, digital borders, and a strong focus on sustainability. We need each other to achieve this”. During her address, Simpson emphasised the opportunities for investors, governments, and society to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through collaboration. India’s impressive expansion in Travel & Tourism was praised as a prime example. The sector is projected to contribute over INR 16.5TN to India’s economy this year, create 1.6MN new jobs, to reach a total employment figure of nearly 40MN people. By the end of the decade, tourism is forecast to contribute approximately 7% of India’s economy. Simpson addressed three key challenges facing the industry: Visa backlogs pose a significant obstacle, with excessive …

The European Commission welcomes agreement between European Parliament and European Council to allow digitalisation of Schengen visa procedure. It will modernise two main aspects of the procedure: digitalisation of visa sticker and visa application by setting up an EU online Visa application platform.

According to Schengen Visa Statistics 2022, Indian travellers have one of the highest rejection rates in the world when it comes to Schengen visa. It states that Indians filed over 6 lakh Schengen visa applications in 2022, which happens to be the third highest in the world, but also faced a steep rejection rate of 18 per cent.

The recently released report by Visa and EY has revealed that India is expected to receive 30.5 million international travelers for spiritual purposes by 2028. It also says that there will be a huge surge in international spiritual tourism into India to complement domestic spiritual travel, which is estimated to be 60 percent of the total domestic travel in India.

According to a recent update from the US department of state, US visa costs will rise from next month as processing fees for certain categories rise. “The hike – ranging from $15 to $110 – will come into effect from May 30 and apply to tourist or business as well as student and exchange visitor visas,” revealed an official document. “The fee for visitor visas for business or tourism (B1/B2), and other non-petition based NIVs such as student and exchange visitor visas, will increase from $160 to $185,” stated the document.

Atlys, India’s leading visa application platform, is organizing a webinar today at 3:30pm IST. Become a distributor for Atlys, which automates and simplifies the visa application process and helps agents apply for visa in few mins. Register on +91 9650196532, jaspreet@ddppl.com.

Maitri Visa and Travel Service (MVTS) is one of India’s premier travel agencies based in Delhi that offers a range of services to its clients. On Friday, February 10th, 2023, MVTS hosted a Dinner & Cocktail Party with celebrity live performances at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Greater Noida. Parvesh Dhull, Managing Director of Maitri Visa and Travel Service and Holidays by Maitri, established the visa operation in 2006 with a focus on Dubai. Holidays by Maitri, a relatively new company founded in 2022, specializes in MICE. According to Dhull, Maitri is a leading visa company. The purpose of the gala dinner was to bring together leading Indian travel agents and to showcase performances by major Haryanvi stars. MVTS expressed gratitude towards the media partners and travel agents for their support in 2022, which was a remarkable year for the company. The travel industry saw significant growth in 2022, increasing by approximately 60%, and it is expected to continue its upward trend in 2023.  

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath launched a new global gateway for the state with the inauguration of the first VFS Global Joint Visa Application Centre (JVAC) and the VFS Global Academy in Lucknow. This spacious and comfortable facility equipped with modern amenities and services will have the capacity of processing approximately 1.2 lakh applications a year and will be of immense benefit to the citizens of Uttar Pradesh, who till now had to travel to other cities like New Delhi to submit their visa applications. 

flynas, the Saudi air carrier, announced that its passengers can apply for an electronic Stopover Visa through its website. The “Stopover Visa” is issued after purchasing the airline ticket, and the validity of the visa extends to three months and the stay in the Kingdom up to 4 days. The visa application will be passed automatically to the unified national visa platform at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to process and issue the digital visa immediately and send it to the beneficiary via e-mail. Expecting that the new service will contribute to increasing the visitors to the Kingdom, including Umrah and Pilgrim visitors, tourists, and businessmen, Bandar Almohanna, CEO and Managing Director of flynas, said, “the Saudi Vision 2030 has laid the foundations for cooperation among the regulatory and executive sectors on one hand, and with the private sector on the other hand, to serve the Kingdom’s goals in all sectors. Today, we see a practical application of this integration and cooperation by enabling the national carriers to facilitate a request for issuing a Stopover visa, which facilitates procedures of obtaining a Stopover visa for whoever wishes to visit the Kingdom”. Almohanna stressed that this service will contribute to strengthening the Kingdom’s position as a global hub for travel and business by facilitating quick business visits, making the Kingdom a point of contact between countries and continents. He indicated that the new service comes in line with the civil aviation strategy to reach 330 million passengers and link the Kingdom’s cities with 250 global destinations and 100 million tourists annually. Thousands of tourists are expected to benefit from the Stopover visa to attend the various cultural and entertainment events in …