Boost for India following return of e-Tourist Visas
Newmarket Holidays is predicting a surge in India tour bookings following the return of the country’s e-Tourist Visas for British citizens. Prior to the pandemic India was a top-selling destination for the escorted tour specialist, but the application process for e-Tourist Visas for British citizens was paused in March 2020, and then replaced by in-person appointments that led to long delays in processing applications.
Richard Harrington, Newmarket Holidays Destination Manager – US, Canada & Asia cheered the change: “It’s great news that the e-Tourist Visa has returned. It’s a far simpler, faster and much cheaper option for customers travelling to this much-loved destination.”
Newmarket Holidays offers nine escorted tours and has 60 available departure dates for India in 2023 and 2024, with all guided group trips including hand-picked accommodation, escorted excursions and activities that take travellers beyond the guidebooks, meals, transfers and return flights.
Three of their most popular India tours include:
India – Tigers & the Taj Mahal, a bestseller that is the perfect introduction to one of the world’s most fascinating and alluring destinations. It visits the Golden Triangle of spectacular northern cities, Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, and incredible sites that include the Taj Mahal at dawn, the Palace of the Winds and the ancient Amber and Red Forts, before searching for tigers in the jungle of Ranthambhore.
India’s Rajasthan – Palace and Fort, a small-group tour that includes stays in some of Northern India’s finest heritage hotels and is crammed with memorable experiences, including the Gatimaan Express, Agra, Jaipur, and remote Bikaner, a cruise on the Ras Niwas Palace Boat along the Chambal River, the astonishing Jain temples in Ranakpur and the monumental Mehrangarh Fort at Jodhpur.
Kerala & India’s Beautiful South, explores an idyllic land of ancient ports, labyrinthine backwaters and forested uplands dotted with temples and tea plantations. Highlights include a narrow-gauge rail ride through the Nilgiri Mountains, the ancient seaport of Kochi, and French-influenced Pondicherry, where there’s a Hôtel de Ville and beret-wearing gendarmes.
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E – visas have got to be the way ahead. Why wouldn’t a country opt for e – visas if it wants to boost its tourism?
That should make things easier. Let’s hope that they now sort out the queuing for immigration at Delhi airport. That short of queue is the last thing that you need after a long flight.
I did India on my gap year. Or rather India did me! I lost 6 kilos in about 10 days, so didn’t see that much of India.
Now that I can afford to do it in style I’d like to head back. From what I saw, I felt that India was such an inspiring country. An E – visa will make arrival more user friendly.