Indian tourists battle mega visa hassles
Indian tourism leader slams visa policies for BRIC countries
Brazilians, Russians, Indians and Chinese face difficulties when it comes to getting tourist visas, say experts. Immigration policies are making life very difficult for Indian travelers, according to industry experts.
“We don’t count the passengers we send overseas now, we count those rejected," Peter Kerkar, chief executive of major Indian travel group Cox & Kings, told the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Ministers’ Summit at the World Travel Market in London last month.
"It’s worse than a tax audit -- the humiliation is incredible, and there is no consistency in rejection.
“India has a potential base of 100 million travelers and Indians are known to spend more than any other race when we travel -- so why are they being stopped?"
According to reports, other chairmen and ministers of tourism from the Gulf, Jamaica and South Africa threw their weight behind Kerkar's sentiments.
“People have to stop seeing the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries as wanting to emigrate. We don’t want to leave, we just want to travel,” Kerkar added.
