18 August 2008

Tourists to India to receive faster visa services

India’s Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni announced the Indian mission in South Africa will be outsourcing its visa services to speed up the process, reports SindhToday.net.

The services are being outsourced in response to growing numbers of people wanting to apply for an Indian tourist visa, reports the news provider, and it is hoped the outsourcing will prevent delays in the visa application process.

"My vision is that within 48 hours, anyone wanting to visit India must get a visa. Since 2006 there has been a focus on India, resulting in us developing new tourism products, making it more exciting for both types of travellers - the backpacker and the higher end tourist," Soni told reporters.

The Minister said an increasing amount of tourists are visiting India for religious reasons, visiting family, or wanting to experience rural tourism, shopping tourism and Ayurvedic tourism.  "For the West Asian market, we are even developing monsoon tourism, so we are promoting India as a 365 days tourism destination," added Soni.

---

The Worldwide Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in India visa and immigration services.

Article by Jessica Bird, Worldwide Visa Bureau.