Schengen visa gets costly but long wait time remains bigger dampener for Indian tourists

Schengen visa fees has increased but it will not affect demand for the region, say experts.

Shelling out more for Schengen visa with the fees increasing by 12 percent recently is still not a deterrent for Indian travellers as much as the long wait time, which continues to dampen the mood of tourists from India.

The hike in Schengen visa fees by around Rs 2,000, up from Rs 7,200 to now around Rs 9,000, is unlikely to significantly deter Indian travelers who are already spending around Rs 2-3 lakh per person, said founder of travel and tour company KareVoyage, Shefali Jain Mishra, who added that it is the long wait time that is affecting the travel demand from India.

"Existing issues such as visa processing delays and higher rejection rates are already affecting travel demand negatively. These factors combined might contribute to a lukewarm response towards Schengen countries among Indian travelers," she said.

While the fees increase can be a bit of a deterrent, the real issue is that it is difficult to get visas on time, said Rajiv Mehra, President, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO).

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"They (consulates) are severely short staffed and they need to streamline the visa issue process. As things stand now, getting the Schengen visa is a big hassle, there are procedural delays or rejection," he added.

The visitor count from India to Europe has not recovered from the pandemic low and is around 35 percent below pre-Covid levels, according to data by a visa solution provider.

The demand backlog is high for the Schengen region, noted Aashish Gupta, Consulting CEO, Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH).

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A leg up for other destinations

In such a scenario when the backlog is high so is the wait time to get Schengen visa, Mehra said that other destinations like Vietnam, Baku, Almaty, our neighbor Sri Lanka and all time favourite Thailand have benefited from this. "People wish to travel where they are welcome and not where they have issues in getting visas."

Central Asian and Eurasian countries, such as Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, are already experiencing a surge in demand, said Mishra. "These countries offer easier visa processes and have been gaining popularity as alternative travel destinations."

When it comes to demand surge among Indian travelers, closer to home destinations like Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand recorded 50-400 percent increase this year versus 2023. Newer destinations including Baku (Azerbaijan), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Uzbekistan and Georgia are seeing strong traction among Indian travellers and have seen a surge of 550 percent this year.

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Schengen still attractive

While Mishra pointed out that this year, so far, travel demand for Schengen countries among Indians has been relatively lukewarm compared to the previous year, Mohak Nahta, founder and CEO of visa platform Atlys expects the recently introduced cascade system to drive demand.

According to the newly adopted visa cascade regime for India, Indian nationals can now be issued long-term multi-entry Schengen visas valid for two years after having obtained and lawfully used two visas within the previous three years.

"The implementation of the cascade system will only increase the overall number of applications in spite of the visa fees hike because this is the first time in history that Indians have been given a clear path to getting a longer term visa," Nahta said.

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He added that with the cascade regime travelers will not have to apply for visas frequently and therefore make the process much cheaper in the longer run for frequent travellers.

Last year, there was a 44 percent rise in the number of Schengen visa applications as compared to 2022. In 2024, Nahta expects to continue seeing an upward trend in the number of Schengen applications.

"The demand has been stronger than before. We expect to see an increase in the number of travellers applying to Schengen," he said.