Free e-tourist visa to boost travel
THE introduction in late
February of an e-tourist
visa, at no charge to
South African nationals,
could well increase traffic to
India, which has seen tourist
numbers from South Africa
drop with the loss of direct
flights.
Director for the Government
of India Tourist Office
in South Africa, Manas
Pattanaik, is upbeat about
the development. He says
it enables South African
travellers to take advantage
of short-notice travel specials,
while those resident outside
the four cities where visa
issuing authorities operate
(Johannesburg, Pretoria,
Durban and Cape Town) will
no longer have to travel to
obtain them. South African
passport holders can now
apply for the e-tourist visa
from anywhere in the world.
The visa is a single-entry
document valid for 30-day
stays. It is available to South
Africans and residents of
most neighbouring countries
whose reason for travel is
recreation, short-duration
medical treatment, casual VFR
and ‘casual business visits’.
Manas says an example of
a casual business visit is
a trader purchasing Indian
market goods for re-sale in
South Africa; the visa would
not extend to conference
delegates, incentive tour
participants, and corporate
travellers with an intensive
itinerary of meetings.
The e-tourist visa allows
entry and departure from 16
Indian airports and can only
be used twice in a calendar
year. It is not available to
official, diplomatic or service
passport holders.
Online applications (https://
indianvisaonline.gov.in/
visa/info1.jsp) should be
submitted four to 30 days in
advance of the proposed date
of travel. Photographs and a
scan of the passport’s photo
page need to be uploaded
too. Applicants receive
confirmation of the application
by email and are able to track
its status online. Visas are
issued in 72 hours or less.
On departure, airline
officials are able to verify
visas by scanning a bar code.
The visa must be presented
to officials on arrival in India,
where biometric details are
captured.
India initiated the e-tourist
visa in November 2014,
extending the option to 43
countries. It has since added
more to the list, announcing
a final 37 countries in
November, to make a total
of 150. In January this year
88 162 tourist arrivals in the
country had e-tourist visas, up
252% from 25 023 in January
2015.
Travellers requiring longstay,
multiple-entry visas and
travelling multiple times a
year, will have to continue to
apply as in the past.
Lack of direct flights
hurts market
FOLLOWING the end
of the SAA-Etihad
partnership, there is
market speculation that
SAA will re-introduce a
direct flight to India. But
the national carrier is
not saying much other
than general assurance
from spokesperson, Tlali
Tlali, that the termination
or launch of routes
will be communicated
appropriately to all
stakeholders.
Without doubt, the
lack of direct flights has
affected tourist numbers.
According to statistics
from the Government
of India Tourist office,
in 2012 South African
tourist arrivals stood at
50 161, rising to 58 023
in 2013, but falling to
56 246 in 2014 when
SAA decreased flights
from seven a week to
four. Statistics for 2015,
when SAA cancelled the
direct flight in March, are
not yet available.
As the weak rand limits
the range of affordable
destinations for South
Africans, India is an
obvious choice for local
travellers. The good
news is that there are
many air connections via
other African and Middle
Eastern points.
Emirates, which serves
10 Indian cities from
Johannesburg, Durban
and Cape Town, is best
in terms of convenience,
says Noorjehan Vadachia,
sales and marketing
director at Durban-based
Avoca Travels. “This is
very helpful in designing
an itinerary for India, as
a client may enter in the
north and exit from the
south, eliminating the
need to backtrack and
spend a lot on internal
airfares,” she says.
Noorjehan says clients
also use Qatar Airways,
which serves 12 cities in
India, and there are other
economical options like
Ethiopian, Air Seychelles
and Kenya Airways, with
short stopovers in Addis
Ababa, Mahé and Nairobi
respectively. Air Mauritius
is a good option for
clients who want to take
an island beach break en
route.
Many of these airlines
serve Durban, from where
there is much need for
Indian routes. “The traffic
from Durban to India is
mainly fuelled by the huge
demand from the ethnic
Indian market for which
India remains its favourite
tourist destination.
There have been some
upward trends in terms
of tourists from the nonIndian
community, and
business travellers from
Durban also have multiple
reasons to visit India,”
says Noorjehan.
Ethiopian Airlines is a
recent entrant to Durban,
where it began a direct
operation from Addis
Ababa last December.
Regional manager
Southern Africa, Abel
Alemu, says the
proportion of travellers of
Indian descent out
of Durban to India is
higher than any other
segments.
Convenient connections
Emirates
Indian points served from
Dubai by Emirates are
Ahmedabad, Bengaluru,
Chennai, Hyderabad,
Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode,
Mumbai, New Delhi and
Thiruvananthapuram. In South
Africa, the airline flies to
Cape Town twice daily, Durban
daily and Johannesburg four
times daily.
Etihad
From Abu Dhabi, this airline
serves both Johannesburg
and Mumbai daily.
Turkish Airlines
Turkey’s national carrier flies
from Istanbul to Mumbai and
New Delhi. In South Africa,
Johannesburg is on its route
network (seven times a week
but increasing to 10 in July)
with four weekly flights going
on to Durban. Seven weekly
flights operate to Cape Town.
Qatar Airways
In South Africa the airline
serves Johannesburg twice
daily, Cape Town daily and
Durban via Johannesburg four
times a week. Qatar Airways
offers daily flights to Mumbai,
Ahmedabad, Amritsar,
Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata,
Kozhikode, Trivandrum,
Chennai, Bengaluru and
Nagpur, with 11 flights a
week to Cochin and doubledaily
flights to the capital,
New Delhi. Overall frequency
is 102 passenger flights
each week on 254-seat B787
Dreamliners and 335-seat
B777 aircraft.
Air Mauritius
Air Mauritius flies to Mumbai
four times a week and New
Delhi twice a week, and
once a week to Chennai
and Bengaluru. Airbus A330
and A340 aircraft are used,
offering lie-flat seats in
business class. “We offer
a free stopover in Mauritius
on all non-connecting
flights,” says sales and
marketing manager, Wouter
Nel. “Passengers enjoy one
night at a four-star hotel
with selected meals and
transfers free of charge. Our
India route also sees the
launch of new meals created
by our executive chef, to
complement the route with
authentic meals. Air Mauritius
offers passengers travelling
to India via Mauritius a
40kg baggage allowance in
economy class and one free
date change.”
Air Seychelles
The airline offers services
from Mahé to both
Johannesburg and Mumbai.
Through codeshares, the
following points in India
are served: Ahmedabad,
Bengaluru, Chennai,
Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi,
Kolkata, New Delhi and
Thiruvananthapuram. Through
a codeshare with SAA, Cape
Town, Durban, East London
and Port Elizabeth are
served.
Ethiopian Airlines
Ethiopian Airlines operates
double-daily services to both
Mumbai and New Delhi,
having increased frequency
on the second route at the
end of March. “This will
make our frequency 28 a
week to two of the major
cities in India,” says Abel
Alemu. “Together with our
interline partners [Air India
and Jet Airways], we provide
a smooth connection for
domestic flights in India.”
The airline flies to Durban
and Johannesburg 10 times
a week, to Cape Town nine
times weekly and three times
a week to Durban.
Kenya Airways
Kenya Airways added a
fourth daily frequency to its
Johannesburg-Nairobi network
on April 2, increasing its
weekly schedule from 21-25.
It flies direct from Nairobi to
Mumbai twice daily.
Take the train!
Take the train!
IMAGES of overcrowded trains
in India are iconic. Some
travellers would not dream
of leaving their coaches, but
to others they are attractively
adventurous. What advice
should you offer your clients?
According to Annemarie
Lexow, sales and marketing
manager for TravelVision, the
budget traveller can travel
safely in affordable trains
operated and managed by
the Indian Railway Catering
and Tourism Corporation,
a Government of India
enterprise. “It sells packages
of up to seven or eight nights
and includes insurance. These
trains only operate from
September through to March,
with a block-out period during
the monsoon period, April to
August.” The India Tourist
Office’s Manas Pattanaik
points out that the service will
soon introduce e-ticketing.
He also recommends travel
on the superfast Rajdhani
Express trains, which connect
New Delhi to all state capitals.
They are air-conditioned in
all three classes and fares
include meals.
The Shatabdi Express, too,
is air-conditioned and fast,
and connects cities to tourist
centres. Its New Delhi-Bophal
route will get the traveller to
Agra in two hours.
At the top of the luxury scale
is the five-star-plus Palace
on Wheels, reputed to be
one of the most luxurious
train journeys in the world.
Currently, TravelVision is
promoting a seven-night
package travelling from Delhi
to Jaipur, Sawai Madhopur and
Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Jaisalmer,
Jodhpur, Bharatpur and Agra,
ending in Delhi.
It sells for the handsome
price of R64 680 per person
sharing, and includes a night’s
accommodation in Delhi
pre- and post-trip, transfers,
meals, conducted sightseeing,
all entrance fees, a cultural
programme, and special
treats such as a camel ride
at Jaisalmer, a boat ride at
Udaipur and a rickshaw ride at
Bharatpur.
A highlight, says Annemarie,
is a visit to the Pink Fort at
Jaipur, which includes an
elephant ride up the steep hill
to the entrance.
The package is valid for
September this year, with
departures each Wednesday.
Personalised tours cater
for all budgets
SPOTTING tigers in
Ranthambore National
Park or houseboat stays
in Kerala are some of the
more unusual activities
travellers with Discoveries
Worldwide can count on.
South-east Asia is
one of the specialities
of this niche outbound
tour operator, which is
based in Johannesburg.
It offers tailor-made
options to clients who
want a personalised tour,
says operations manager,
Michelle Jansen.
“We naturally have
suggested our sample
itineraries, but will always
custom tailor, based on
where clients would like to
be, how long they would
like to be there and what
they would like to do.
Our itineraries are based
on what the client has
expressed as important
to them – be it cost,
sightseeing, religious or
special events.”
Budget-wise, Discoveries
Worldwide offers three
five-star options but will
take specific budgets into
account. “We offer landonly
as well packages that
include flights. Our trips are
as inclusive as possible
– so that clients don’t get
‘unexpected surprises’ with
additional costs when they
reach the destination.”
The tour operator offers
all the popular touring
options, such as the
Golden Triangle and the
beaches of Goa, but the
personalised, private
nature of its tours makes it
possible to add in special
aspects such as culinary
experiences, yoga classes
and more.
Things you may not know about India
IT IS no surprise that India, with
its population, depth of history,
diversity and size, should offer
countless special interests for
visitors. Cultural attractions are
usually the first to be explored,
but visitors return repeatedly
to delve into its spirituality,
disciplines such as yoga
and Ayurveda, and its many
adventure pursuits.
Some lesser-known facets of
the country are provided below,
courtesy of Avoca Travels.
It has world-renowned spas
like Ananda in the Himalayas
at Narendra Nagar and
Oberoi’s Wild Flower Hall in
Mashobra.
Self-drive 4x4 safaris are
designed so that clients get
to see tourist attractions and
also enjoy off-road driving.
Snorkelling and scuba diving
in the azure blue waters
at Havelock Island in the
Andaman Islands are gaining
popularity.
Adventure activities such
as mountain climbing in the
Himalayas, trekking, whitewater
rafting and paragliding
are just some items on a long
menu of offerings.
A homestay with an Indian
family is a unique way to
immerse oneself in the
culture of the country.
Properties like the Oberoi
Udaivilas and Hotel Lake
Palace in Udaipur, Hotel Aman
Bagh in Alwar, The Lodhi in
Delhi and Hotel Rambagh
Palace in Jaipur, offer ultimate
experiences in luxury.
