Small-town India goes global: Huge rise in demand for visas at doorstep

If you are familiar with the story of Vijayan, the 69-year-old tea stall owner from Kochi who has travelled to over 20 countries with his wife despite his meagre means, you’ll know travel and wanderlust is no longer the domain of the privileged few.

As more Indians explore uncharted territories for work or holiday, it is travellers from the farthest corners who want to be out and about. What’s more, travel companies have spotted this fast-growing market and are rolling out the red carpet them.

Take VFS Global for instance. The world's largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide kickstarted its doorstep delivery for visa services in 2016. In one year, the demand for doorstep delivery of visas across India grew by 144%.


Demand for travel loans on the rise
The highest demand for doorstep delivery of visas came from Goa, Lucknow, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, Mangaluru and Gurgaon.

Even as applications from metro cities increased, first-time demand for doorstep visa services came from cities like Allahabad, Amravati, Thiruvananthapuram, Erode, Surat, Nagercoil, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Tiruppur, Muzaffarpur, Palakkad, Indore, Guwahati, Jodhpur and Chattarpur (MP). The highest number of visa applications, VFS Global said, was processed in Nagpur, followed by Indore. In Shillong, doorstep visa applications grew from two in 2017 to 150 in 2018.

"More Indians from smaller cities are travelling abroad than ever before and are keen to explore offbeat destinations," said Vinay Malhotra, regional group chief operating officer (Middle East, South Asia, and China) of VFS Global.

Thomas Cook India, a separate entity from Thomas Cook UK after it was acquired in 2012, said it had seen a strong shift in source markets to India’s regional Tier 2 and 3 cities with Amritsar, Karnal, Guwahati, Ranchi, Aurangabad, Visakhapatnam, Hubli, Udaipur and Vijaywada registering higher demand for travel offerings than metro cities.

"Indians are no longer shying away from spending, with an increased demand observed for travel loans to fulfil their travel aspirations. A key highlight has been the shift from a saver’s economy to a spender's economy," said Rajeev Kale, president and country head (holidays, MICE and visa), at Thomas Cook India. "Small-town travellers are opting for destinations like Dubai, Europe and Southeast Asia. Apart from increase in disposable income, the biggest factor for growth is improved airport infrastructure and air connectivity," said Daniel D’souza, president and country head (leisure) at SOTC Travel.