Bengaluru tops list of cities in terms of online visa applications

Bengaluru :IT hub Bengaluru tops the list of cities in terms of online visa applications, with 22 per cent contribution, followed by Mumbai and Delhi, according to a survey by travel firm Thomas Cook (India).

Thomas Cook (India) had recently launched ‘Online Visas’ to empower its customers with detailed visa information (visa requirements per destination, downloadable visa forms,consular addresses and timings, processing duration and visa costs).

The survey found that the maximum online applications received less than 15 days prior departure, were from Bengaluru and for short-haul destinations Singapore and Malaysia.

“The world is changing rapidly and so is customer behaviour. Today’s digitally native Indian is increasingly impatient for both information or data, as also delivery.

Obtaining a visa remains one of the biggest pain points for India’s traveller as it involves filling complex applications, travelling to metro cities, standing in queues for submissions or interviews,” Thomas Cook (India) Chief Operating Officer – IT and E Services – Amit Madhan said.

Following Singapore, which topped the list of favoured destinations for online visa submissions, are Schengen countries like Switzerland and France, he said.

Bengaluru continues to show faster adoption for new online tools, Pune and Hyderabad together with Mumbai and Delhi are not far behind, he pointed out.

PTI