Bhutan, Thailand figure in most popular visa-friendly destinations among Indians

As more numbers of Indians prefer visiting visa-friendly countries, Bhutan is increasingly catching their fascination, with the Kingdom in the Himalayas registering a surge of 136 percent in travel searches, according to a new study by Skyscanner.

The study by this travel site took into consideration searches made regarding travel by monthly visitors numbering more than 50 million to understand the visa-friendly destinations Indians preferred in the H1 2016.

The Press Trust of India quotes Skyscanner as saying that destinations such as Indonesia, the Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles and Thailand in Asia and the Indian Ocean region have gained traction as searches for flights surged in the first half of 2016 when compared with the corresponding period last year.

Meanwhile, the ever-popular Thailand continues to attract Indian tourists in droves as in the first half of 2016, 38 percent of all Indian travellers on the lookout for a visa-friendly destination chose this Southeast Asian nation.

Seychelles, an island nation off East Africa in the Indian Ocean, which offers Indian citizens a visa-on-arrival, saw an increase of 23 percent in searches compared to the first half of 2015.

Mauritius and the Maldives, also located in the Indian Ocean region, saw flight searches soar by 19 percent and 13 percent, respectively, as they offer Indian tourists a stay of up to 90 days without a visa.

Reshmi Roy, Growth Manager with Skyscanner, was quoted by the news agency as saying that the number of countries offering visa-friendly options to Indians have swelled in a short period, providing more choices to people to discover overseas destinations. She said that it was not surprising to see visa-friendly destinations becoming more popular.

Meanwhile, Indonesia has also become a hit with Indian travellers as searches for it grew by 16 percent. It is also because Indonesia’s recent visa regime has started allowing Indian nationals to stay for up to 30 days without a visa.

A surprise on the list, however, is Macau, which has overtaken Hong Kong in popularity among Indians. The study said that Macau probably profited from the either the effect of James Bond or a 30-day visa-waiver as it saw a growth of 17 percent in travel searches.

If you are looking to travel to one of these visa-friendly places on a leisure trip, contact Y-Axis to get professional help to file for a tourist visa from one of its 19 offices located in India’s eight most populous cities.