The Indian hotel industry has welcomed the union government's unveiling of visa on arrival (VoA) for citizens of 43 countries. The hotel industry, which is currently going through a rough patch, is now hopeful of seeing an improvement in room occupancy.
"The new visa rules have lifted the travel barriers to India and the hospitality industry welcomes this well-timed move," said Rajiv Kaul, president, The Leela palaces, hotels and resorts. "The expected increase in inbound foreign tourist arrivals due to the liberalisation of these entry rules are bound to have the much-needed positive impact on both tourist arrivals and hotel occupancy."
Anuraag Bhatnagar, area general manager, Starwood hotels & resorts, said that the number of foreign tourists to India is dropping; he expects this situation to change because of the VoA. "With India widening its visa-on-arrival regime, I believe foreign tourist arrivals will increase in the next few quarters," Bhatnagar said.
The VoA comes even as domestic tourism in India is on the rise. In 2012, the number of domestic tourists was 16.5% higher than that in 2011, as per latest figures released by the tourism industry.
Hoteliers said that popular destinations such as Goa, Kerala, Rajasthan, North East India and the business hubs Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore would benefit most from the VoA scheme. But Mukesh Kumar Meshram, managing director of Uttar Pradesh Roadways, said that the state of Uttar Pradesh would also be a beneficiary. "The VoA would attract more and more tourists to UP due to its global significance. UP has one of the seven wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal, and the world's most sought-after Buddhist circuit that includes Sarnath, Kushinagar, Piprahwa, Sankisa, Sravasti and Kaushambi," Meshram said.
Amit Samson, general manager of Mumbai's Lalit hotel said, "It (VoA) will certainly pull in tourists with short-term planning. Also, such hassle free VoA will create a psychological ease in the minds of these tourists and spur incremental inbound tourism."
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