Ambassador François Richier announces French visa in 48 hours; More Centers

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, Nov 27: India’s Prime Minister Narenra Modi has been on an overdrive to announce visas on arrivals for foreign tourists and life-time visas for NRIs and PIOs during his recent visits to the US, Australia and Fiji. To mach this, France has also announced issuance of visas in 48 hours and launching of eight more visa centers across the country to cater to the growing number of Indians visiting the country.

To coincide with the World Tourism Day and Beaujolais Nouveau wine festival, French Ambassador François Richier announced long-term visas for frequent travelers and issuance of visas within 48 hours (two working days) from December 1.

It may be recalled that during his visit to India in July 2014, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius had announced this measure to be implemented as of January 1, 2015. A text message will be sent automatically to the applicant should there be an extension of deadline due to missing documents or inaccuracies in the visa application.

The Ambassador also launched “Chalo Paris”, a mobile application custom-made for Indian tourists planning a French holiday. It will provide useful information on monuments and tourist spots in Paris; restaurants in Paris with a particular focus on vegetarian restaurants and some recommendations by Ms Rashmi Uday Singh, Paris-fan and an acclaimed food-critic; and shopping areas in popular districts and night-life.
It will also give information on regions like Normandy, the Loire Valley, Mont Saint Michel, Bordeaux and its veneyars which are easily accessible from Paris.

He said “Chalo Paris” application will also have practical features for English-French/ French-English translation to assist travelers in day-to-day situations and all useful telephone numbers and euro/rupee converter. He said this all-in-one information app will be made available to the public on December 10.

Ambassador François Richier said "we are committed to strengthening connectivity between France and India at all levels. Removing barriers and hurdles is our core objective."

He also announced opening of eight new France Visa Application Centers (VFS) throughout India from December 1 in addition to the six already existing centers. The new centers will be located in the following cities: Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Pune, Goa, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Hyderabad and Jaipur.

He said “this extended network will enable French authorities to gain proximity to Indian applicants and to cater effectively to the increasing number of tourists wanting to visit France. Visas will be delivered within 72 hours in these new centers, to take into account the necessary transportation of visa applications to the French consulates.”

France currently has centers in Delhi, Pondicherry, Kolkata, Bangalore and Mumbai that issue visas.

Ambassador François Richier said the number of visas delivered by French consulates in India has jumped by 33 per cent in 2014 compared to 2013, with a total of 80,000 visas delivered from January to October. “We expect to reach 90 000 visas delivered in 2014.”

Around 3.5 lakh Indians visit France annually, but this constitutes only 0.23 per cent of the total foreign tourists’ visiting France.

To celebrate Le Beaujolais Nouveau, Ambassador Richier also uncorked a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau wine with great pomp and style.

Beaujolais Nouveau, is a young wine which comes from the Rhone Alpes region, in a an area located south of Burgundy in France. Beaujeu, the capital of the Beaujolais region comes alive during the third Thursday of November, hosting a massive party. Other areas in France also boisterously celebrate the arrival of the Beaujolais Nouveau. This is a great night to celebrate life, wine and a grand French tradition.

Kingdom of Dreams wins India’s Best Tourist Destination Award

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, Dec 27: India’s dream destination for leisure and live entertainment, Kingdom of Dreams, was recently awarded the “Best Tourist Attraction” award by India Travel Awards (North).

The glorious award ceremony was attended by distinguished personalities who came together to acknowledge the contribution of the best in the travel and tourism industry by recognizing and awarding them.

Earlier this year, the India Travel Awards hosted their regional editions in South, West and East India.

The awards were presented to achievers from different segments of the industry which included travel agents, tour operators, hotels, airlines, and state and& international tourism boards.

The winners of the awards were defined by a fair and unbiased selection process done through online voting and judged by a panel of jury consisting of the travel industry’s luminaries. The total score of the judges and the number of votes received by each nominee determined the winners.

The chief guest for the evening, Sohan Singh Thandal, Minister of Tourism & Cultural Affairs, Printing & Stationary and Jails, Government of Punjab, said, “Tourism is a very important industry and the people who are working for the growth of this sector need to be recognized and encouraged. India Travel Awards is an ideal platform for this.”

Expressing his pride and excitement on this felicitation, Viraf Sarkari, Director Kingdom of Dreams said, “This recognition and award given to Kingdom of Dreams by the tourism industry is a proud moment for us at KOD. It is a validation of all our dedication and efforts to become an important part of a Tourist’s itinerary. We wanted KOD to become a Must See and Must Visit destination and this award proves that Kingdom of Dreams is attaining the enviable status in the Indian tourism sector where a visit to India is incomplete without a visit to Kingdom of Dreams”.

Speaking on the occasion, Anumod Gagan Sharma, Managing Director Kingdom of Dreams said, “When we started our project KOD we had perceived a vacuum in the performing arts industry and felt that Kingdom of Dreams will fulfill that need. This award is recognition by all the visitors, customers and the tourism sector of the country that Kingdom of Dreams is indeed a dream destination for a tourist to visit and enjoy a day of complete family entertainment.”

India Travel Awards is supported by Government of India, Ministry of Tourism and is now hailed as one of the most esteemed awards in the tourism industry in India.

These awards are also braced by trade bodies like Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), World Travel & Tourism Council, India Initiative (WTTCII), Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), Adventure Tour Operators’ Association of India (ATOAI) and the Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI).

India launches e-visa for 43 countries

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, Nov 27:

Continuing with the wish-list of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create more jobs and attract investment, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday launched the E-Visa enabled by Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) for visitors from 43 countries including US, Germany and Israel.

Launching the e-visa facility here, Rajnath Singh said "we want to promote tourism in the country in a big way. The contribution of tourism in the GDP is approximately 7 per cent and we want to double it up."

Now, a visitor from these countries will just have to apply for an e-visa on the designated website and pay the fee online to get an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) within 72 hours.

Russia, Ukraine, Brazil, UAE, Jordan, Kenya, Fiji, Finland, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Mauritius, Mexico, Norway, Oman and Philippines are among the countries which have got the e-visa facility in the first phase.

Minister of Tourism and Culture and Minister for State for Civil Aviation, Dr Mahesh Sharma was the Guest of Honour at the launch event. Home Secretary Anil Goswami, Tourism Secretary Dr. Lalit K. Panwar, Former Tourism Secretary Parvez Dewan, and host of other Senior Government Officials from various concerned Ministries, Ambassadors from various Countries, Media members from National and Travel press, industry stake holders were present in large numbers.

"Currently we have included 43 countries in the first phase. Barring those who are 'high-risk' countries, we will extend this facility to almost every country in the world phase-wise," said the Home Minister.

E-visa will be valid for 30 days and a tourist can avail the facility twice a year.

He said earlier the visa-on-arrival facility was available for the 12 countries.

"But this manual system was causing delay so now we have introduced the IT-based system for faster result," he said.

Congratulating all those involved in the launching of e-visa system, tourism minister Mahesh Sharma said, "This is a historic day for tourism sector. The facility has opened the country to a vast world."

Raising the issue of safety of tourists, Sharma asked the Home Minister to provide fool-proof security to them.

In response to the tourism minister's concern, Singh assured safety and security for all tourists particularly foreigners who come to India.

"We are formulating a legal framework for this. We will ensure safety and security for all tourists," he said.

In his welcome address, President of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) Subhash Goyal expressed the happiness of the industry and added that this Augurs well for all stake holders in the tourism industry.

Subhash Goyal assured the Government that when E-Visa is implemented in full swing from all the tourism generating countries, tourism to India will grow by at least 50 to 100 per cent in the next two-three years.

IATO Hony Secretary Pronab Sarkar proposed the vote of thanks.

With the launch, the e-visa facility has become operational at nine international airports - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Goa.

Pau, IATO delegations wow to promote tourism

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, Nov 11: Mr. Patrick de Stampa, President, Chamber of Commerce & Industry Pau Bearn (France), with his delegation from France which included Ms. Marie-Helene Abbo, Dr. Muneesh Kumar and Prof Sehgal from Delhi University, had an interactive meeting with the IATO President, Mr Subhash Goyal, and leading tour operators who have both inbound and outbound operations for France Market here on Tuesday.

While extending welcome to the delegation, Mr. Subhash Goyal appraised Pau Bearn President Mr. Patrick De Stampa and the delegation members about the inbound and outbound trends and was pleased to update on the IATO members who keep regular contacts with French Counterparts by participating in Tourism Fairs like TOP RESA, FOIRE DE PARIS and Road Shows in almost the major cities in France.

Recently IATO had orgainsed road shows from September 16 to 18 in Lyon-Marseille-Toulouse and had got a very good response.

While promoting the Pau Region, Mr. De Stempa made a very colourful presentation and explained the unique heritage of the Region with Pau as main entry point and then exploring Lourdes, Biarritz, Bayonne, Toulouse, Tarbes rich in nature, small and medium industries, educational institutions, pilgrimage and aviation services etc.

He profusely talked about investment opportunities in the region and the region offering a large variety of cultural events and many historic sites to visit.

Gastronomic heritage makes the region all the more attractive, known for its excellent produce and the Savoir faire of its restaurants and sample South wines.

Pan Pyrenees, situated between the beaches and the mountains, offers large choice of adventure tourism activities.

He extended warm welcome to IATO members for tourism exchange investments and joint promotions to boost the tourist places of this unique South East Region of France.

Mr Goyal presented IATO momentous on behalf of IATO members and expressed his happiness for their visit to have direct interaction with IATO members.

“Such updates from the President which is very educative for our members and will facilitate them to boost the region through new packages,” added Goyal.