Emiratis flock to India
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The number of UAE nationals travellingto India this summer hasdoubled according to figures released by the Indian Consulate in Dubai. Dubai-‘s Gulf Newshas reported that approximately 12,000 tourist visas were issued to Emiratis inJune this year, compared to just over 6,000 a year previous. The rapidexpansion of air routes between the countries has helped boost tourism, withAir Arabia and Jazeera Airways offering new, low cost options. Flightfrequencies between the two countries have increased following the signing of aMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) in February, allowing carriers to boost theirtrans-Arabian Sea services.
Medical tourism is said to be popularwith Emiratis, according to the Indian Consulate. “One of the main reasonsfor the swelling numbers of UAE nationals heading for India is primarily for health andmedical check-ups. The majority of them head to the South Indian statesfollowed by Mumbai,” said Manish Kumar Sinha, Consul of Visa and ConsularServices.
In fact such is increased demand for Indianvisas, the country’s consulate in Dubaiis has started working on Fridays and Saturdays to cope. “The extra hoursput in by our staff at the section are because we need to clear the backlog.”Sinha added.
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