Updated: 19 May 2024 | 02:39 PM IST
Saujanya Shrivastava, MakeMyTrip’s chief operating officer for flights, holidays and the Gulf region, reported that the company saw a 57% increase in searches to Japan over the summer compared to last year. “Among the major cities in Japan, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Nagoya saw the most interest, with Tokyo alone accounting for two-thirds of hotel searches and 80% of flight searches,” she said.
Indian nationals can apply for e-visas for travel to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, while Kazakhstan allows visa-free entry for up to 14 days.
Industry executives say that with Schengen visa bookings slowing over the past three years, Indian tourists are now more likely than before to choose alternative destinations such as Georgia, Australia and Japan, which have simplified visa requirements for Indian tourists and are now more attractive options as summer destinations.
Georgia’s e-Visa program has been particularly well-received, with Thomas Cook (India) reporting a staggering 600% increase in demand to the country compared to last year. As ET reports, the travel agency has increased the number of departures on several of its group series to meet the increased demand.
“Alongside Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan have also seen significant growth (around 400%) and we are combining them with Georgia while also offering standalone options,” said Rajeev Kale, president, holidays, Thomas Cook (India). He added that regions such as Tashkent, Samarkand (Uzbekistan) and Almaty (Kazakhstan) have also seen significant growth of around 300% year-on-year.”
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Indian nationals can apply for e-visas to travel to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan allows visa-free entry for up to 14 days. Travelers from India are now opting for these alternative destinations in part due to continued delays in visa appointments to some Schengen countries, as ET has been reporting since April 24.
Saujanya Shrivastava, MakeMyTrip’s chief operating officer for flights, holidays and the Gulf region, reported that the company saw a 57% increase in searches to Japan over the summer compared to last year. “Among the major cities in Japan, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Nagoya saw the most interest, with Tokyo alone accounting for two-thirds of hotel searches and 80% of flight searches,” she said.
During a recent trip to India, Agoda CEO Omri Morgenstern spoke about the impact of relaxed visa regulations on travel: “We know that when the visa process is easy and there is ample capacity on the planes, travel increases. The challenge is removing friction,” he said, citing Bangkok as an example. After Thailand introduced visa waivers, Bangkok rose to the top of Agoda’s list for Indian travelers.
Thailand recently announced that Indian nationals would not require a temporary visa until November 11 as part of efforts to attract more tourists.
Bharat Malik, senior vice president of Yatra Online’s airline and hotel business, said they have seen a significant increase in last-minute bookings to international destinations such as Thailand, Vietnam, Mauritius, Singapore, Bali and Sri Lanka. He added that “bookings to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan have increased 100% from pre-COVID levels.”
Cleartrip’s vice president of aviation, Gaurav Patwari, said the company’s most popular international destinations for Indian tourists are Bangkok, Dubai and Singapore.
Daniel D’Souza, president, leisure travel, SOTC Travel, highlighted that Indian travellers’ decisions are now heavily influenced by visa procedures, including slot availability and processing time, especially as booking windows have shortened this year to 30-40 days for short-haul destinations and 50-60 days for long-haul destinations.
“Australia’s streamlined e-visa makes the end-to-end process smoother,” according to D’Souza, and as a result, the company claims to have seen a 40-45% annual growth in Indian travellers to Australia.
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