Visa on Arrival

We are very pleased to report that it has just been announced that the UK has been added to the list of countries that can obtain their Indian Tourist Visa on arrival.  The e-Tourist Visa (eTV) process will begin on 15 August 2015.  

The eTV fee at US$60 appears to be cheaper than the current system (UK£82 plus charges of £7.44 or more) but there are limitations eg it allows a maximum of 30 days in India and single entry only.  Also you must arrive into an Indian Airport that is set up to process the eTV – there are currently nine: Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Trivandrum with a further seven added from 15 August: Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Gaya, Jaipur, Lucknow, Trichy, Varanasi.  Unfortunately Calicut is not on the list and this is an airport we regularly book for our customers.

Tourists can still get their visa in advance and for arrival into Calicut or holidays longer than 30 days some people will have to.  But for most people this announcement is good news – although you may find that it takes longer to get through immigration.
We will monitor the situation and update our Visa Advice as we learn more.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Alternative Dispute Resolution or ADR is a new piece of legislation that has not yet hit the headlines.  From 1 October 2015 all businesses in Europe must offer their customers a method of resolving disputes without the need to go through the small claims courts which can be costly, time-consuming and stressful for both parties.  As ABTA members we already give our customers the option to use their arbitration service.  The good news is that ABTA’s ADR scheme has been approved by Trading Standards – in fact it is the first in the travel industry to be approved.

I am pleased to report that so far – since we launched this company in 1998 we have never had a complaint that we have not been able to resolve.  But it is good to know that ABTA have an approved scheme that we can offer our customers.