No e-visa facility from the UK; Visitors will have to apply for a regular paper visa at the Indian Embassy

India: Withdrawal of e-visa facility for visitors from the UK will be a major setback for the tourism industry, which had hoped to revive itself after a two-year epidemic closure. Visitors from the UK make up the largest portion of foreign tourists visiting the state. The e-visa facility for the UK and Canada was withdrawn by the Center last year as a reciprocal measure against countries that do not provide the same facilities to Indian citizens. With the sky opening this year after Covid's demise, the lack of e - visa facility is likely to deter many British nationals from visiting India.

Visitors from the UK will have to apply for a regular paper visa at the Indian Embassy, ​​which is very difficult for many of them.

"For UK citizens living in the countryside, a trip to London for a visa would include an overnight stay, the cost would be about the same as the cost of their trip to India," said a UK-based tour operator.

According to the tour operator, many regular visitors from the UK to India have canceled their vacation plans and opted for other destinations. In 2019, when the epidemic and related aviation restrictions did not affect the tourism sector, visitors from the UK accounted for 15% or 1.86 lakh more foreign tourists. Tourists from the UK are also considered high spenders, which brings valuable foreign exchange to the country. "The UK's anchor source market is due to the cultural ties that the British have with India, and they are the ones who go down to new destinations and promote them globally.

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