70% growth for Slovakia

With a total of three VFS Global’s visa application centres in India, Slovakia saw a 70 per cent increase in Indian arrivals in 2018, with leisure tourism on the rise.

Hazel Jain

Ivan Lancaric, Ambassador of Slovakia to India, based in New Delhi, was recently in Mumbai to officially inaugurate VFS Global’s Slovakia Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Mumbai’s BKC area. This takes the total number of VACs for Slovakia to three in India. the other two are in New Delhi and Bengaluru. This development is an indication of the growing number of travellers to the destination. According to the Ambassador, around 12,000 Indians travelled to Slovakia in 2018. “This was almost a 70 per cent increase in numbers which can be attributed to our campaign that we launched about six months ago to promote tourism in India. We are seeing an increase in leisure tourists,” he shares. Slovakia is also focusing on tapping film and TV production houses for shoots. He added, “Slovakia offers a 20 per cent cash rebate of certified private expenses spent for film or TV production in the Slovak Republic. This cash rebate will increase to 33 per cent from January 1, 2020.”

Vinay Malhotra, Regional Chief Operating Officer — South Asia, Middle East and China, VFS Global, said, “Slovakia’s reputation as an aspirational destination is growing, and we are pleased to provide travellers our best-in-class services to make the first step in their journey comfortable.”