Human over tech
The decision of the Union Government to expand the visa-on-arrival facility to citizens of all but eight countries – Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka and Sudan – is greeted with understandable enthusiasm by those expecting benefit. It may not be as momentous as the opening up of our economy to foreign businesses and investors and dismantling of the quota and licence raj through the 1990s, but it is big enough for its promise that those wishing to visit India may less likely change their mind by our famed bureaucratic tangles. Effectively, the plan spares intending tourists the bother of visiting Indian consulates or their visa facilitating agencies by obtaining an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) in three days and fulfilling visa formalities at an airport in India. A speedy yes or no, is the big change. Realistically, the chief beneficiaries of this regulatory change will be an estimated 2.5 crore people of Indian descent holding foreign passports.
Apart from this diaspora sentiment that the Ministry of Overseas Indians pushed, the real motivation is the tourist dollar. With India’s tourism industry contributing approximately 3.7 per ent to gross domestic product (GDP) and accounting for 4.4 per cent of employment, a surge in tourist arrivals will be a big help to planners seeking ways to reduce the current account deficit. Currently, domestic travellers account for 82 per cent of the tourism revenue. When an estimated 66.5 lakhs foreign tourists arrived in the 2012-2013 fiscal, Thailand and Malaysia counted four times as many. This is the extent of imbalance India hopes to reduce by removing one major put-off factor for tourists. The Visa on Arrival (VoA) plan that started in 2010 with five countries and extended to six more in 2011 has had some effect (20,294 VoAs in 2013 compared to 16,084 VoAs in 2012) although it cannot be stated if the 26 per cent rise is really indicative of new travellers tempted by the ease in visa formalities.
The challenge now is to make the VoA facility that rides on the efficiency of technology, to have the desired effect on visitors queuing at the country’s 26 international airports. Home Ministry has suggested 10 more counters at bigger airports and a few more at smaller ones. Given the security fears of a post-9/11 world, much of the irritants are at airports. An Immigration, Visas, Foreigners’ Registration and Tracking (IVFRT) system, launched after it was found how 26/11 Mumbai attack planner David Coleman Headley slipped in and out of the country without raising suspicion, connects about 80 per ent of diplomatic posts abroad and most hotels and travel agents in our cities. IVFRT and the Advance Passenger Information System of the airlines are hooked up to immigration posts and Foreigners’ Regional Registration Offices (FRRO). Technically, enforcement officials anywhere in the country will be able to draw on this database after a passport is entered at an airport. The efficacy of this network will make or mar the VoA convenience.
Along with conveniences of travel and transit for the visitor and satisfaction of national security needs, what the country needs to ensure is safety for tourists. Tales of crime against females, tourists and natives, have led several countries to issue travel advisories against India. Last year’s tourist arrival growth of 3 per cent was the slowest since the global downturn in 2008 after a rise of 6 per cent in 2012 and 9 per cent in 2011. It is no good luring the world with easy visas if people don’t feel safe across the country. For that, our dealings with tourists must surpass the slickness of technology.
Along with conveniences of travel and transit for the visitor and satisfaction of national security needs, what the country needs to ensure is safety for tourists. Tales of crime against females, tourists and natives, have led several countries to issue travel advisories against India
