current affairs travel and tourism

We urgently need to kickstart tourism’s recovery but crisis offers an opportunity to rethink it

International tourist arrivals fell to levels not seen since 1990. Image:  Lukas Souza on Unsplash

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Stay up to date:.

• With vaccination advancing in most developed economies, we would have expected the tourism situation today to be significantly better than this time last year. Sadly, it is not.
• Less than 10 years away from our global goal of ensuring shared prosperity by 2030, we need to kickstart tourism’s recovery for the millions who have been left struggling.
• We must look beyond the immediate restart of tourism – this crisis is an opportunity to rethink tourism policies and management.

This should be the time of year when people are packing suitcases and travel documents for their summer holidays – at least in the northern hemisphere. For many economies, these months are critical, and millions of businesses and workers are eager for tourists to return, especially given how badly the sector has already been hit.

Last year was catastrophic for tourism and the millions of people who depend on it. After six decades of extraordinary growth, the sector was brought to a near-complete standstill by the COVID-19 pandemic.

International tourist arrivals fell to levels not seen since 1990. We estimate that the crisis has cost the world about $4 trillion and placed over 100 million direct tourism jobs at risk. The impact is so big because of the numerous suppliers and businesses that are linked to the core sector. To put these numbers into perspective, the impact is almost equivalent to the GDP of France.

Slow progress

With vaccinations being rolled out in most developed economies, we would have expected the situation today to be significantly better than this time last year. Unfortunately, it is not.

So, what has happened? On the one hand, relatively slow progress in vaccination puts many tourism workers at risk, thus affecting the supply side. Tourism workers in developing economies, including destinations such as small island developing states, where tourism is a lifeline and a key driver of development, are particularly at risk.

On the other hand, travellers’ confidence is affected by the ever-changing travel restrictions that cannot be eased or lifted right now, particularly in light of new variants of the virus emerging and in the absence of sufficient roll-out of vaccinations.

Added to that, we have the costs of tests, a lack of coordination and clarity over regulations in place at destinations, limited international cooperation, the cancellation or rescheduling of flights, and general uncertainty about the evolution of the virus. It is small wonder so many people remain wary of travelling.

Have you read?

4 ways nature tourism can help drive a green covid-19 recovery, international tourism is set to plunge by 80% this year – but some regions could recover more quickly, tourism industry experts fear long road to recovery.

But tourists – and their money – are so needed right now. International tourism is a vital source of income for many countries. The foreign exchange earned through tourism is in many places a critical source for funds to finance public spending, investment for much-needed payment of relief and recovery measures, and for servicing debt repayments that have been piling up.

Tourism’s impact goes beyond economics. The sector is a key pillar of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with a unique ability to contribute to most – if not all – of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including through providing opportunities for youth and women, and helping preserve and promote natural and cultural heritage.

Kickstarting the recovery

We are now less than 10 years away from our global goal of ensuring shared prosperity by 2030. The pandemic has put our joint progress on hold. We thus need urgent action. We need to kickstart tourism’s recovery for the millions who, for more than a year now, have been left struggling.

First and foremost, we need to collectively ensure that vaccination is equitably available across the world. One key concern is that developing countries, many of which are highly dependent on international tourism, are bearing the heaviest brunt of the uneven vaccination roll-out. Addressing this will require unprecedented levels of cooperation. However, while leaders have pledged their commitment to international solidarity, their words are yet to be backed up by actions.

On our side, the UN Conference on Trade and Development and the UN World Tourism Organization are leading the way in providing clear, updated and trusted data and analysis used by governments and businesses to inform recovery policies and decision-making.

Countries should also ensure that their tourism businesses of all sizes can survive the current crisis so that the power of the sector can be tapped when tourists return. This requires measures such as credit lines for tourism businesses and the provision of social protection for tourism workers.

In addition, digital technologies need to be used to increase security and boost travellers’ confidence. It is also time to step up digitalization among companies and the tourism workforce, upskilling the sector to become more resilient.

As other sectors proceed to decarbonize, the aviation sector could account for a much higher share of global greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century than its 2%-3% share today.

Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) can reduce the life-cycle carbon footprint of aviation fuel by up to 80%, but they currently make up less than 0.1% of total aviation fuel consumption. Enabling a shift from fossil fuels to SAFs will require a significant increase in production, which is a costly investment.

The Forum’s Clean Skies for Tomorrow (CST) Coalition is a global initiative driving the transition to sustainable aviation fuels as part of the aviation industry’s ambitious efforts to achieve carbon-neutral flying.

The coalition brings together government leaders, climate experts and CEOs from aviation, energy, finance and other sectors who agree on the urgent need to help the aviation industry reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The coalition aims to advance the commercial scale of viable production of sustainable low-carbon aviation fuels (bio and synthetic) for broad adoption in the industry by 2030. Initiatives include a mechanism for aggregating demand for carbon-neutral flying, a co-investment vehicle and geographically specific value-chain industry blueprints.

Learn more about the Clean Skies for Tomorrow Coalition's impact and contact us to find out how you can get involved.

At the same time, we must look beyond the immediate restart of tourism. This crisis is an opportunity to rethink tourism. For instance, so-called “overtourism” had been a concern in many places prior to the pandemic.

Now is the moment to redesign and adjust tourism policies and management, including through greater diversification, more innovative products and the revitalisation of rural areas. Across the world, people have started to rediscover their own countries through domestic tourism and this offers an opportunity to spread the sector’s benefits more widely.

As we enter another peak travel season with the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, we need to face up to the fact that the crisis confronting tourism is far from over.

Last year, we set out three possible scenarios for the pandemic’s expected impact on the sector. The worst-case scenario turned out to be too optimistic. And this year, even in the most optimistic scenario, we will still be 60% below the levels of 2019.

But again, this should be seized as an opportunity to realign the sector towards greater sustainability and inclusivity rather than simply going back to the way we were before. Tourism is the sector with the broadest economic value chain and the deepest social footprint. Herein lies the opportunity to rethink, restart and to grow back better. But first, we need to restart tourism.

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U.S. Travel led successful advocacy efforts to aid the travel industry’s recovery.

COVID-19 had a devastating impact on the travel industry. The pandemic’s effect on global travel has cost the U.S. economy billions in lost spending, imperiled the livelihoods of millions of American workers and jeopardized travel businesses of all sizes.

U.S. Travel led successful advocacy efforts to develop and pass federal measures to aid the travel and tourism industry’s recovery, including funding to enable the resumption of marketing and promotion to leisure travelers.

On March 11, 2021 President Biden signed into law a massive $1.9 trillion COVID-19 economic relief bill called the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) .

U.S. Travel successfully fought to secure billions of dollars in additional federal relief for all segments of the travel industry in the ARPA.

In addition, following passage of the ARPA, U.S. Travel endorsed the PPP Extension Act of 2021 and successfully lobbied Congress to enact the bill—providing hard-hit travel businesses and DMOs with additional access to this critical economic lifeline.

We worked with lawmakers to introduce and build support for the bipartisan Hospitality and Commerce Job Recovery Act of 2021 (HCJRA) .

In addition, U.S. Travel led the development of the Pandemic Risk Insurance Act (H.R.5823) , which would create a federal program to help stabilize pandemic risk coverage in business interruption and event cancellation insurance.

Most recently, U.S. Travel advocated for a number of key travel provisions in the  $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill , which includes the Restoring Brand USA Act to provide $250 million in relief funding to the nation’s destination marketing organization.

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Secretary raimondo announces new national strategy to reenergize u.s. travel and tourism, office of public affairs.

Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo today announced a new National Travel and Tourism Strategy that focuses federal government efforts to support the U.S. travel and tourism industry and sets an ambitious five-year goal of attracting 90 million international visitors to the United States each year. It is estimated these visitors would spend $279 billion annually—expenditures that will support job creation in communities across the United States, its territories, and the District of Columbia.

The Tourism Policy Council , a federal interagency council created by Congress, was charged by Secretary Raimondo with creating the strategy to focus U.S. government efforts in support of the travel and tourism sector which has been deeply and disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategy follows a four-point approach to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint, create safe and secure checkpoints, and bolster travel and tourism in underserved and underrepresented communities across the country.

Specifically, the strategy aims to: promote the United States as a premier travel destination, including broadening marketing efforts to encourage visitation to underserved and underrepresented communities; facilitate safe and efficient travel to and within the United States and its territories; ensure diverse and accessible tourism experiences with a focus on showcasing the nation’s federal lands and waters while also protecting them for future generations; and foster resilient and sustainable travel and tourism with goals to reduce the sectors’ contributions to climate change while rebuilding sectors that protect natural resources, support the tourism economy and ensure equitable development. Read the strategy and the fact sheet .

“Across all 50 states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia, communities are safely welcoming back visitors. From the crown jewels of our national parks and forests, to the historic and diverse sites that tell the story of our people and culture, the United States offers destinations for international travelers like no other,” said Secretary Raimondo. “The impact of COVID-19 has taken a toll on our national and local economies, but it also has presented us with a unique opportunity to mold a more inclusive, equitable, sustainable and resilient travel and tourism industry than ever before. Our new strategy leverages the best of what the U.S. public and private sectors offer, which will promote jobs, recover lost revenues, and inspire unforgettable experiences.”

The travel and tourism sector has historically been a critical force in economic growth and employment in the United States. When non-U.S. residents purchase goods and services while in the United States, it counts as export income for the U.S. economy.

In 2020, the Department’s  National Travel and Tourism Office  reported that the decline in travel and tourism to and within the United States accounted for 56% of the decline in U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), and travel exports dropped 65% in 2020 when compared to 2019, or pre-pandemic levels.

However, throughout 2021, as the Biden-Harris Administration implemented a robust vaccine rollout and effective travel policies centered around health and safety, along with lifting travel restrictions when it was safe to do so, monthly overseas arrivals to the United States increased from roughly 775,000 in October 2021 to more than 2 million in April 2022. As a result, international travel to the United States has generated a trade surplus in each of the past five months indicating a positive trend toward recovery even as international travel remains below pre-pandemic levels.

About the National Travel and Tourism Office The National Travel and Tourism Office, housed within the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, and led by the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Analysis, is the federal government’s official source for U.S. travel and tourism statistics. For more information on the National Travel and Tourism Office statistics and research programs, including interactive data monitors, factsheets, and comprehensive downloads, please visit:   https://www.trade.gov/national-travel-and-tourism-office .

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State of Travel 2023

Welcome to skift research’s state of travel 2023 report.

Travel is back! While 2022 was all about bumper performances in some countries and sectors, and lagging performances in others, we can truly say that 2023 is the year that travel fully recovered. Sure, there continue to be weaknesses in demand, issues with supply, and a nagging worry about the broader economy, but everything points to travel getting back to the status quo.

This State of Travel 2023 report, then, is a positive report, but we want the industry to be clear-eyed about the persisting and upcoming challenges. We have gone to great lengths to explore key trends (and fads) from different angles, to provide you, the reader, with a strong foundation and understanding of the world you work and live in.

This report highlights many opportunities. We discuss the biggest consumer, business, and investment trends, so you can stress-test, and where needed alter, your strategies. Take this report as a starting point for discussions about how your company, association, or destination can benefit from these opportunities.

The report draws on Skift Research’s own research and third-party data sources to analyze the industry’s current performance, and chart travel’s path forward, all backed by real-world data. We provide over 250 graphs and statistics in this deck.

The first section of the report covers travel’s performance, as well as the wider economic landscape. The second section is all about trends. Finally, the third section provides sectoral coverage with quick overviews of every noteworthy travel sector.

Already a Skift Research subscriber? You can download the report, here .

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• Discussions of the economic climate and major consumer, business, and investment trends, including the impact of AI, the return of business travel, luxury travel, sustainability, and operational constraints
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In the Pacific Country of Palau, Conservation and Luxury Tourism Go Hand in Hand

A fter snorkeling with the dazzling fish of Palau ’s crystalline waters, I returned to my hotel and gratefully accepted a hibiscus lemonade and a cold lemongrass towel—a needed balm after baking in the equatorial sun. At the spa , the therapist treated my burns with a bespoke massage fusing Palauan remedies with common-sense aloe. I woke to a vermilion sunset after being lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of the waves.

This is not the typical guest experience in Palau, a pristine and far-flung tropical archipelago east of the Philippines . The islands' vibrant coral reefs have long attracted the world's most avid divers, but the country's lack of luxury infrastructure has excluded it from the five-star travel circuit. That's about to change, however. I stayed aboard the Four Seasons Explorer , a posh 11-cabin yacht that arrived in Palau last October as a sort of advance guard for the hotel brand, which plans to build an on-shore resort in the future. The country hopes that this will be the first of many high-profile arrivals as it seeks to recalibrate its image.

“In the past, our visitors only knew diving and the ocean,” said Surangel Whipps Jr., Palau's president. “Then we had a big wave of tourists from mainland China in 2015, and that damaged the environment.” He wore a sea-blue shirt as he sat in his office in Koror , Palau's biggest city (population: 11,000), discussing the need to create jobs for local Palauans, who are increasingly going “off-island” in search of work, and to prevent Palau from being overrun with visitors. “We don't need to be the next Phuket,” he told me. To protect the ecosystem and mitigate the impact of mass tourism, Palau is building a luxury tourism model (read: high-spend, low-volume) by courting some of the ritziest names in hospitality.

While the country knows that nature is its top draw, it is also leaning on another rich resource: its culture. The Alii Pass program, launched by the Palau Visitors Authority in 2018 (and revived in 2022, after the pandemic), offers community-led tours with Palauan experts all over the country. These include longtime must-dos like snorkeling in Jellyfish Lake as well as surprises like a historic World War II tour on Peleliu island and a visit to the ancient stone monoliths of Ngarchelong. One trip took me to the mangrove-fringed state of Airai, where locals welcomed me and the Explorer crew with Palauan songs and insight into Indigenous customs. “We don't let just anyone explain our histories or sites,” said Velma Obak, our guide in Airai. We stood before the majestic Airai Bai, a centuries-old meeting house, as she narrated the legends depicted on the building's façade. As a historian, she's working with Palau's education ministry to ensure that the cultural knowledge she's researched is shared with fellow Palauans, not just with visitors.

This goal of preservation—of both nature and heritage—is the mantra of Heather Ketebengang of the Palau Conservation Society, who took me bird-watching through the Rock Islands, a necklace of forested limestone isles resembling giant emeralds in a turquoise sea, where white terns and kingfishers sped past. Back on the Explorer, I asked her if she believed tourism could coexist with conservation. Yes, she said, but it must be a form of tourism that supports conservation, giving back to nature while hosting its stewards and the thoughtful visitors who want to see Palau—both above and below the waves. “I want everyone—including my children and grandchildren—to see Palau the way I see it today.”

Some quick facts about Palau

Population: 18,000 (2021)

Languages spoken: English, Palauan

World first: Palau banned shark fishing in 2009

Keep an eye out for: The rainbow-plumed Palauan fruit dove

This article appeared in the April 2024 issue of  Condé Nast Traveler.  Subscribe to the magazine   here .

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Moscow extends a warm welcome to Indian travellers with enhanced infrastructure and hidden gems

Russia actively promoting moscow as a tourist destination for indian travellers, improving infrastructure and visa process..

Russia is making an active bid to attract Indian travellers to visit Moscow -- a huge megalopolis and the historical, political and spiritual heart of the Russian Federation. The Moscow City Tourism Committee is promoting the city not only as a cultural capital but also as a business hub as it plans to onboard trade partners, tourists and vacationers. Moscow has also strengthened cooperation with the tourism sectors of allied nations, hosting familiarization tours for delegates and arranging business trips to showcase the city's tourism potential.

To accommodate visitors, Moscow is improving its infrastructure: signs are now available in English and Chinese, all announcements on public transport are repeated in English, and hotels are also adapting to cater to the needs of guests from various countries and ensure a comfortable stay. "We are still on our way to restore the flow of Indian tourists in Moscow like it used to be before the pandemic," said Bulat Nurmukhanov, Head of International Cooperation Division of Moscow City Tourism Committee.

Bulat further said that before the pandemic, there was a steady growth of 12-15 per cent on a year-on-year basis. In the first half of the year, Moscow received about 20,000 Indians, compared to the same period a year ago, it is about 56 per cent higher. In a bid to make Moscow a must-visit destination, the committee is actively working on improving the infrastructure for international travellers. Moscow is spearheading the development of innovative standards in catering to the needs of foreign travellers.

Tourists arriving in the capital can stay in hotels of various price segments. They can savour traditional Russian cuisine, and can also indulge in a diverse culinary experience, with options ranging from authentic Indian delicacies to continental dishes prepared to the highest standards. In 2022, the number of foreign tourists who visited Moscow increased by 6.3 per cent compared to 2021, reaching a total of 1.7 million.

Travelling to Moscow has now become easier as tourists from India and 54 other countries can apply for an electronic visa to enter Russia from August 1, 2023. The impact of e-visa rollout would be available by October this year after the quarterly data from the Russian border control agencies is analysed, Bulat said.

Moreover, the Russian government is planning to come out with a virtual 'Foreign Tourist Card' that will enable cashless payments for various services. "The idea behind this card is, a person back home in India can remotely apply for this card and then he/she can transfer money from the personal bank account to this bank account," Bulat added.

Meanwhile, sources in the Indian Embassy in Moscow told reporters that the Indian tourism ministry as well as the governments of Goa and Kerala are slated to participate in roundtable discussions this month. There are also plans to engage social media influencers to improve the inward traffic to India. Before the pandemic, around 3 lakh Russian tourists visited India annually. The numbers are down to around 80,000-90,000 of late.

To facilitate easy visitor movement across the city, there is "Discover Moscow" -- a navigation and travel web portal about Moscow and "RUSSPASS travel service" -- a digital platform designed for planning trips across Russia. The Discover Moscow portal features descriptions of over 1,200 architectural landmarks in Moscow. The site provides news, digests with festival and event information and curated lists of exhibition venues.

By availing the RUSSPASS travel service, tourists can access all essential information for a trip to Moscow on the site, including visa and currency matters, accommodation and transportation options in the capital. The site also offers a trip builder feature, allowing tourists to select pre-designed city routes or create their own itinerary from their favourite locations. There are versions of the site in Russian, English, Spanish and Arabic.

On the cultural scene, Moscow boasts 10,000 cultural venues including theaters, museums, libraries, parks, cinemas, concert halls, and more. In the last decade, around 900 parks and green spaces have been renovated.

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Why The World’s Top Travel Brands Are Betting Big On Indian Tourists

India’s surging middle class is projected to spend as much as $144 billion a year on international travel by 2030. and hotels, airlines and cities are spending millions to land them., by suzanne rowan kelleher , forbes staff.

L ast week, hundreds of global travel professionals gathered in Delhi for the inaugural Skift India Summit and the opportunity to glean valuable insights from the CEOs of major travel brands, including The Oberoi Group, OYO, Agoda and the country’s flag carrier, Air India. “India is having a moment,” explains Brian Quinn, head of event programming at Skift, “with the India outbound traveler poised to become the biggest global force in coming years.”

A decade ago, you could have said the same about Chinese tourists. Back in 2014, some 117 million Chinese tourists traveled internationally, which was a 20% increase from the previous year. But 10 years and one pandemic later, Chinese outbound travel still hasn’t rebounded to its pre-Covid heights, while the energy and focus of the global tourism machine has shifted southeast—to India.

With more than 1.4 billion people, India now has the world’s largest population and the fifth-largest economy . Outbound travel from India is growing much faster than from any other country, which has led to a flurry of predictions that have travel brands salivating.

“There’s such huge potential,” says Caroline Bremner, head of travel and tourism research at Euromonitor International , which projects 47 million Indian outbound travelers by 2030. “That’s more than doubling from 2019. And then on the spending side, it’s even better, going from $35 billion in 2019 to $84 billion in 2030,” she says. “Essentially, India is jumping up the ranks and will be the sixth-largest outbound source market globally by 2030, after China, the U.S., the U.K., Germany and France.”

A 2023 report by Nangia Andersen , the Indian arm of Andersen Global, forecasts that Indian outbound travel will grow at an 11.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between now and 2032—which roughly aligns with Euromonitor’s prediction for tourist volume. If these projections bear out, then another, wilder prediction may not be so implausible after all: organizers of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM), an industry conference to be held in Dubai in May, have touted that India’s outbound market will be worth $144 billion a year by the end of this decade.

And a recent report from McKinsey is similarly bullish on the longer-term prospects for Indian tourism. “India’s outbound travel has the potential to grow from 13 million trips in 2022 to over 80 million in 2040,” the authors write. “If India follows China’s outbound travel trajectory (which it could, due to similarity in population size and per capita income trajectory), then Indian tourists could make 80 million to 90 million trips a year by 2040.”

Given all the hype, travel brands have, naturally, begun heavily courting Indian tourists, often by tapping celebrities as influencers. Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan promotes Dubai and Katrina Kaif, a British actress who makes Hindi-language films, professes her loyalty to Accor. Actor Ranveer Singh appears in ads for Abu Dhabi , while his wife, Deepika Padukone, is the global brand ambassador of Qatar Airways . Meanwhile, Neeraj Chopra, the reigning Olympic gold medalist and world champion in javelin, has been enlisted to promote Switzerland’s spectacular alpine landscapes.

Yet before India’s outbound travel can reach its full potential, industry experts say, the volume of flights in and out of the country—a number mutually decided by the two respective governments—must increase dramatically. There were roughly 14% more flight routes by city pairs to and from India last year compared to 2019, according to data from FlightAware . Right now, airlines are operating just 18 scheduled passenger flights each week from India to the United States—up from 14 in 2019.

Some destinations have made policy tweaks to boost capacity. In late 2022, Canada lifted the cap on the number of flights from India from 35 per week to “unlimited” and gave Indian airlines access to six hubs, including Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, and Vancouver. South Africa Tourism, meanwhile, has teamed up with Ethiopian Airlines to provide faster links between India and Africa. Even Bhutan’s prime minister has emphasized the need to strengthen air connectivity between India and the tiny Buddhist kingdom.

Airlines are taking note of India’s growing importance as well. Most notably, Singapore Airlines inked a deal in late 2022 with Tata Group, paying a reported $250 million for a 25% stake in Air India. Last November, Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong told Forbes Asia of his plans to make India a new hub. “You can just tell how much potential there is,” Goh said. “India is growing but it’s significantly underserved.”

Hotel CEOs are also being seduced by the dizzying economic forecasts. “We just are blessed by the increase of demography in the world and blessed by the increase of households that want to travel,” Sébastien Bazin, CEO of the French hospitality giant Accor, told investors on the company’s most recent earnings call in February. He offered a short lesson on global economics, noting that the world’s emerging middle-class population exploded by one billion over the last 10 years. “Half of those are from India,” he emphasized. “We probably can wisely say that for the next 10 years, demand will no longer grow 3% to 5%, but probably 4% to 6%. You very well could be looking at a 3x demand over supply. And a lot of it, again, has to do with India alone, which is [expected to add] 500 million [to its] emerging middle class.”

“India is definitely an economic bright light,” echoes Bremner, noting that the country’s current 8% economic growth rate is stronger than China’s. Moreover, it shows no signs of slowing down.

Last year, 1.7 million Indian tourists visited the United States, making India the country’s fourth-largest travel source after Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom. The average Indian tourist also spends money when traveling internationally—roughly $5,252 per trip, according to the last six months of data collected by the National Travel & Tourism Office (NTTO), the agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce that tracks tourism statistics. Comparatively, the typical visitor from the United Kingdom and Brazil spends $2,656 and $3,344, respectively, while the average Japanese tourist spends $3,672. In other words, it takes two British tourists to spend as much as one Indian traveler.

If the United States wants to attract more Indian tourists in the future, experts say it needs to make entering the country much easier. “I am a firm believer that less friction will lead to more travel,” says Omri Morgenshtern, CEO of Agoda, the largest online travel agency in Asia. “Friction can be removed by adding direct flights, as well as by the introduction of visa waivers or by being able to book accommodation, flights and activities on one app.”

Currently, 62 countries permit Indian travelers to visit without first obtaining a visa—that’s 10 more than in 2016, the year that the Henley & Partners Passport Index launched. But the United States neither grants visa-free entry to Indian tourists nor does it make procuring a visa fast and easy.

While the U.S. is approving more visas for Indians today than in pre-pandemic years, the average visa wait time is still about 10 months, according to the U.S. State Department website . Before a leisure trip to America, an Indian citizen must wait for a visa interview, which can take anywhere from 197 days at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi to 423 days at the U.S. Consulate in Mumbai. In comparison, Indian tourists can get a visa for Canada in just 23 days or the United Kingdom in roughly three weeks.

U.S. officials readily acknowledge that visa wait times are a big problem. Speaking at the Skift India Summit on Tuesday, Eric Garcetti, the U.S. Ambassador to India, told conference-goers that President Joe Biden specifically asked him to tackle the backlog. “I bet it’s the only time the United States president has told the ambassador, ‘Please work on visa issues,’” Garcetti said.

Visa waivers have a proven track record and give nations a competitive edge, insists Agoda CEO Morgenstern. After Azerbaijan introduced the ASAN system, which processes electronic visas within three working days of submitting an application, interest from Indian tourists skyrocketed and arrivals increased fivefold in two years. “Thailand and Malaysia both introduced visa waivers for tourists from India late last year, and that led to an immediate increase in searches from India to both markets,” Morgenshtern says, noting that searches for Thailand grow by 46% even though Thailand was already the top searched destination by Indians. “In the two months after the visa waiver came into effect, Bangkok overtook Dubai as the most-booked city destinations for Indians.” Yet the emirate was not to be outmaneuvered. In February, Dubai introduced a five-year multiple-entry visa for inbound Indian travelers.

Another reason why India is such an attractive source market is its youthful population. Only 7% of India’s population is 65 years and older, compared with 14% in China and 18% in the U.S., according to data from a recent report from the Pew Research Center. People under the age of 25 account for more than 40% of India’s population . “ In fact, there are so many Indians in this age group that roughly one-in-five people globally who are under the age of 25 live in India,” notes the Pew report. “Looking at India’s age distribution another way, the country’s median age is 28. By comparison, the median age is 38 in the United States and 39 in China.”

“It’s an extremely well-educated populace, very digitally savvy,” says Bremner, adding that more than 75% of Indian millennials and Gen Xers traveled in 2023, according to Euromonitor data.

“Indian travelers are more engaged with ecotourism and sustainability than their global counterparts. They are open to all kinds of experiences, from luxury to eco-adventure,” Bremner continues. “And, of course, they are high spending. I’m not at all surprised that destinations from Asia to the Middle East and Europe and U.S. are chasing them.”

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Minister Joly to travel to Belgium to attend NATO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

From: Global Affairs Canada

News release

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that she will be travelling to Brussels, Belgium, to attend the NATO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting from April 3 to 4.

April 2, 2024 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

In Brussels, Minister Joly will attend the NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting, where she will meet with her NATO counterparts and partners to discuss the current global security environment and welcome Sweden to its first Foreign Ministers’ Meeting as an Ally following its accession to NATO on March 7, 2024.

During the meeting, the foreign ministers will also mark NATO’s 75th anniversary and celebrate the years of cooperation and historic achievements on security, underpinned by a strong transatlantic bond. The ministers will also hold a NATO-Ukraine Council meeting to discuss continued support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s aggression. Minister Joly will take the opportunity to reaffirm Canada’s continued support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and will reiterate Canada’s position that Ukraine should become a full member of NATO as soon as conditions allow.

“As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of NATO, the world is facing an increasingly complex political and security environment, making NATO more important than ever in ensuring transatlantic security. I look forward to continuing addressing international security challenges with our NATO Allies and partners while in Brussels.” - Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs

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Canada co-founded NATO in 1949. Today, NATO comprises 32 Allies that are united in their commitment to transatlantic security and defence.

Current Canadian contributions to NATO include:

• supporting NATO assurance and deterrence measures in Central and Eastern Europe through Operation REASSURANCE. With approximately 1,000 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members currently deployed, it is Canada’s largest international military operation. Canada has been leading the multinational enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup in Latvia since 2017. In July 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the renewal and expansion of Operation REASSURANCE, committing $2.6 billion to a 3-year mandate, with up to 2,200 CAF troops continuously deployed
• hosting the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence, located in Montréal, Quebec, and NATO’s North American Regional Office of the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic, to be located in Halifax, Nova Scotia
• continuing to support training and capacity-building efforts in the Middle East under Operation IMPACT, including through NATO Mission Iraq, which was set up under Canadian command, and contributing to lasting security and stability in the country
• providing CAF personnel support to the NATO-led international peace support operation in Kosovo through Operation KOBOLD

In response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Canada has committed over $13.3 billion to date in financial, military, humanitarian, development, security and stabilization and immigration assistance. This includes over $4 billion worth of military assistance donations to Ukraine, including Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks and an armoured recovery vehicle, a National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System with associated munitions, armoured combat support vehicles and anti-tank weapons.

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