Indian visa suspension drives tourists to other Asian destinations, increasing airfares

The suspension of Indian visas has significantly impacted the airline and travel industry in Bangladesh and India. However, for Bangladesh, this unexpectedly increased tourism to other South Asian and Southeast Asian countries such as the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam.

According to the Bangladesh Outbound Tour Operators Forum, as the peak season kicks off with the suspension of Indian visas, leisure tourism to these destinations has increased by 10% to 15%, leading to higher airfares. In some cases, such as Nepal and Sri Lanka, airfares have even doubled.

Despite this increased demand, airlines stated that the increase in flight ticket prices was not directly due to the suspension of visas. They attribute price fluctuations to the usual factors such as supply and demand and the timing of ticket purchases.

Chowdhury said, “On the one hand, the tourism season has started. On the other hand, the closure of Indian visas has led to an increase in tourists using alternative routes. Many people chose Nepal as an alternative to India to obtain a European visa.” Hasanuzzman Rony, President of the Outbound Tour Operators Forum, told TBS:

He said ticket prices “a round-trip ticket to Nepal used to cost Tk 25,000-30,000, but have now almost doubled. The suspension of Indian visas has not yet been fully fixed.”

Nepal is the closest tourism destination to Bangladesh after India. Currently, two airlines operate flights from Dhaka to Nepal: Bangladesh Biman Airlines and Nepal’s Himalayan Airlines. Both airlines offer daily flights from Bangladesh.

They reported that their flights to Kathmandu were over 80 percent occupancy and most of the passengers were tourists. The rest travel to various destinations in the Middle East via Kathmandu.

A tourist to Sri Lanka said that the price of a round-trip ticket to TBS is around Tk 90,000, while the normal fare to Sri Lanka varies between Tk 42,000 and Tk 53,000.

When TBS checked the price of the November 19 round-trip flight from Dhaka to Colombo on ShareTrip on Monday, the fare was Tk 1.12 lakh with SriLankan Airlines. In comparison, the price of a transit flight to Colombo via Air India was Tk 48,714.

According to the Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (Toab), India has long been the most popular destination for outbound tourists due to cultural ties, proximity and easy visa access, accounting for 40-45% of the total tourists.

However, the situation changed after August 5, when India suspended visa issuance following the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government.

According to airlines, although India continues to issue visas on a limited scale, the number of visas issued is still very low, leading to passenger shortages on Indian routes.

As a result, many Bangladeshi airlines have reduced or temporarily suspended their flights to India due to the decline in passenger numbers.

Currently, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, US-Bangla Airlines and Novoair operate flights between Bangladesh and India to Dhaka-Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai, along with India’s Vistara Airlines, Air India and IndiGo. While Novoair has suspended flights to Kolkata, other airlines have reduced their flights to India by a third or half.

Mohsin Iqbal, owner of Amazing Tours, told TBS: “India used to account for 10% of our business but since the closure of Indian visas we have not been able to make up for this loss. But with the arrival of winter, more tourists are traveling to other countries.

“We have seen an increase in the number of tourists going to Thailand through our agency. Other agencies are also sending more tourists to places such as Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.”

He also noted that ticket prices have increased: “It is difficult to find round-trip tickets to South Asian destinations for less than TK 60,000. Tickets to Bhutan sell for TK 50,000.”

“Popular destinations like Dubai, Singapore and Uzbekistan have made it harder to get a tourist visa. Getting a visa to Thailand now takes a month,” he added.

However, airlines said that planned tourists will not face high flight ticket prices if they buy tickets in advance.

US-Bangla Airlines General Manager (Public Relations) Kamrul Islam told TBS: “Since the suspension of Indian visas, we have seen at least a 10% increase in passengers on our Maldives and Bangkok routes.

“If someone buys a ticket a day in advance, they will pay a higher price. However, those who plan ahead usually buy their tickets at least a month in advance.”

Biman Bangladesh Airlines operates flights to many South Asian destinations, including Kathmandu, Bangkok, Malaysia and Singapore.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines General Manager Boshra Islam told TBS: “We have enough passengers outside India on routes like Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok. But we have not increased flight fares suddenly; prices fluctuate as they normally do.”

Thailand, known for medical tourism, shopping and entertainment, attracts 15-20% of Bangladeshi travelers, according to Toab. Malaysia hosts 10%-15%, while Singapore gets 5%-10%.

The Middle East, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman, accounts for 10-15% of Bangladesh’s international tourism. While Europe attracts 5%-8%, other Asian countries such as Nepal, Sri Lanka and China attract 5%-8%.

On the other hand, North America and Australia account for 2 percent to 5 percent of Bangladeshi tourists.