A huge gap separates G20 tourism aims from reality
₹87 crore for visas not received. Travel agents in India claim this is unprecedented, hinting darkly about a European reprisal for India’s geopolitical stand on the Ukraine conflict. Even if that might sound outlandish, there are many tourists who recount lived horror stories.
Families buying airline tickets for European destinations and booking hotels in February or March for a European holiday in June were unable to get visa slots before October. In some cases, European embassies delivered visas days after the scheduled flights, despite applicants having submitted all the relevant data. Ironically, this has been happening to Indian tourists while India hosts a G20 tourism ministerial.
What makes all this egregious is that European nations seem to be practising this selectively, in violation of even the EU’s tourism policies. India and Europe have been trying hard, both in their own ways, to not only strengthen the global multilateral architecture, but to also work together on security, trade and other strategic imperatives. The fact that both parties are currently negotiating a trade deal makes the apparent rejection of Indian tourists even more inexplicable.
At its core, though, all this can perhaps be explained by how tourism is increasingly being defined by a hardened business focus, both by the EU and India. There is no denying that tourism has a role to play in job creation, economic growth and poverty alleviation. But that must not detract from its core purpose of promoting cross-cultural exchanges—as evidenced by the activities of G20 delegates described in the press releases cited above—as a reliable means of improving understanding among diverse communities separated by geography.
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