Canada visa freeze to hit hard India’s tourism sector in peak season

New Delhi: The Union government’s suspension of visa to Canadian citizens can trouble India’s upcoming peak tourism season, says a report.

Travel operators are bracing themselves for ‘large-scale tour cancellations’ after diplomatic ties between both nations weakened, The Indian Express reported.

The Ministry of Tourism’s statistics project December as the peak tourist season where summer is the lean.

Over 24 percent of Canadians travelled to India in December, but less than one percent chose May, according to 2021 data by the ministry.

Canada is great source of tourism market for India, according to Rajiv Mehra, president of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO).

“We have tourists, people of Indian origin travelling to India to meet their friends and relatives and this was expected to be a normal year after 2019-20. So it has a huge impact,” Mehra was quoted as saying.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s remarks against India in the wake of Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing troubled the diplomatic relations between both countries.

The diplomatic meltdown ended up in India cancelling visa service to Canadian citizens.

The visa cancellation, according to IATO, will cause a fall of 30-40 per cent in tour operations against expectations for this season.

Mehra said it will impact hospitality sector, hotels, event planners, wedding planners.

Indian origin Canadians are known for throwing lavish wedding parties as they solemnize marriages here.

Fewer such parties could mean difficult season for the car rental companies.

Ajay Prakash, Board Member of FAITH, was quoted as saying: ‘The standoff with Canada has come just when the inbound season is starting. No authenticated figures are available at this point but if it continues, it will affect all segments. We hope the sentiment in other important markets will not be affected as that could have a disastrous cascading effect.’