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The European Union is considering easing visa rules for Indian tourists to the region soon.
The EU’s move to boost revenue from tourism services comes at a time when the Euro Zone is suffering a crisis.
“The European Union wants more flexible (visa) rules for tourists coming from India,” Mr Antonio Tajani, Vice-President, Industry and Entrepreneurship, European Commission (EC), said here at the EC’s headquarters on Tuesday.
He was addressing a visiting delegation of prominent Indian business-persons, led by Ms Naina Lal Kidwai, Senior Vice-President of industry body Ficci and Country Head, HSBC India.
Security concerns
Mr Tajani said the EU had recently waived visa norms for Brazil on a reciprocal basis for tourism purposes. On the issue of security concerns hampering the issuance of visas, he said, in a lighter vein, that “terrorists don’t need visas to operate.”
“It is much more important to back tourism,” he said.
Pointing out that India’s leading air carrier Jet Airways has its international hub in Brussels, Mr Tajani said it was important to have more flights between India and Europe.
He also said airlines should offer discounted fares during off-season time to help attract more tourists to the EU.
Besides, he said the EU can promote religious tourism given India’s sizeable Catholic population, who would be interested in visiting European churches.
OPPORTUNITIES IN INDIA
Speaking on the occasion, Ms Kidwai said European companies have huge investment opportunities in India, particularly in Defence, infrastructure, agri-business, hotels, space and nuclear technology.
In tourism, European companies can participate in infrastructure building by investing in increasing the capacity of the hotels, especially in Tier 2 and 3 towns, she said.
In the Defence sector, EU companies can partner big names in India such as Tatas and Mahindra, while they can also consider investing in the infrastructure sector, where the Government plans to spend $1 trillion during the next five years, Ms Kidwai said.
Besides, companies from the EU region can also look at investing in the $90-billion Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), she said.
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