Market and tourist visa fees: India's tourism industry to date

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India’s tourism continues to flourish, as travelers increase through the use of e-tourist visa system, which can be accessed in 150 countries. In the latest report of the Ministry of Tourism of India, the number of travelers last July 2016 skyrocketed to 219 percent compared to last year’s figures. It was recorded that there were more than 68,000 international tourists, with U.K. nationals partaking 17 percent of the statistics.

The continuous development of India’s tourism is apparent not just in terms of vacationers, but also when it comes to the number of people traveling for business purposes. In fact, The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) forecasted that the country would become a leader in business travel, contributing a great deal to its economic growth and opening up various job opportunities. For the past years, India has persistently improved its standing in the business travel market, moving up to the 10th spot.

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These news, however, don’t imply that there’s a chance for tourist visa fees to be waived. Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of Tourism and Culture, stated in a recent report that although scrapping of fees is out of the question, "a broad discussion on the overall liberalization of India’s visa policy is underway."

Meanwhile, a change in hotel tariffs in Dehli may happen soon. As of press time, there’s a luxury tax imposed to city hotels, but Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has proposed a bill to remove the said tax. The goal, as published by IndiaToday, is to make the city’s budget hotels cheaper to attract more tourists to the capital, given that most budget hotels are found in Paharganj, Karol Bagh, Mahipalpur, and Daryaganj.

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