TravTalk India Online Magazine
With the acceptance of Covaxin for entry into Spain and with the majority of Spanish population fully vaccinated, the European destination is bound to climb popularity charts for Indians once again, especially since the Consulate General of Spain in Mumbai is processing visas in one day!
Hazel Jain
To take advantage of the upcoming holiday season and with the World Health Organisation recognizing Covaxin as a COVID vaccine in its Emergency Use List, the Tourism Office of Embassy of Spain in India (Mumbai) recently conducted a travel trade webinar. Focused on the Spain (Schengen) visa for India, Nepal and the Sri Lanka market, the session saw attendance from more than 2,000 participants from the travel trade.
One of the key announcements during the discussion was made by Fernando Heredia Noguer, Consul General of Spain in Mumbai. He said, “We have good news! Spain is now open for tourism and safe tourism at that because 90.5 per cent of the target population in Spain has been fully vaccinated. We are processing visas very fast. The visa comes from BLS office and it is processed within one day by the Consulate!”
He added, “There is no need for quarantine when visiting Spain. There are three entry requirements as tourist: a valid Schengen visa, a vaccination certification, and a health declaration form. There is no need to show your vaccination certification when you go to apply for your visa. You only need it to enter Spain. You can enter Spain 14 days after your second dose. With regards to the vaccination, we have some amazing news for our Indian friends. You can now enter Spain with Covaxin also along with Covishield. No RT-PCR test required to enter Spain if fully vaccinated!”
Visitors can fill the health declaration form on the website www.spth.gob.es or by downloading the mobile app ‘Spain Travel Health SpTH’. This will give them a QR code on successful validation. This QR code is required for boarding and health control at entry. Minors under 12 years are exempted from presenting vaccination certificates. They only need a valid Schengen visa and the QR code from the app or website. However, children between 12-18 years who aren’t vaccinated cannot enter Spain.
Bilateral relationship
Speaking on the potential of bilateral relationship between the two countries, His Excellency José María Ridao, Ambassador of Spain to India, says, “Our prime ministers – Narendra Modi and Pedro Sanchez – met recently and we have been instructed by our Foreign Minister to prepare a visit to India early next year. We hope this visit will strengthen our relationship. This political development is further proof that Indians and Spaniards are working together to identify and promote our common interests. This include commercial and financial but also cultural and tourism. Tourism is an enormous field where we can work together and increasing tourism between the two countries will mean increasing our friendship.” He revealed that in 2019, India registered more than 83,000 arrivals from Spain while Spain welcomed more than 2,22,000 Indian tourists.
Sharing some key details on the procedures and requirements for travelers for non-essential travel visa, Helena Escorial Lopez, Head of the Consular Section at the Embassy of Spain in India, said, “We work through BLS offices. Applicants must apply through them and then we will resolve their visa application. Regarding Nepal and Sri Lanka, there is a BLS office in Kathmandu. For Sri Lanka, they can come to New Delhi to apply at our Embassy or through office of BLS in India, or through the Embassy of France in Colombo. Spain welcomes all tourists from India, Sri Lanka and Nepal.”
The session was moderated by Sanjeet, Founder & Managing Director of DDP Group. He said, “I give Spain full credit for being the first European destination to open up. In fact, Spain feels that by 2022, it may be back to the pre-COVID levels in terms of tourist numbers. We don’t need to be afraid of COVID, rather learn to live with it. I believe, the most vaccinated country right now is Spain, which is remarkable. India, and in fact South Asia, is expected to reach 29 mn outbound tourists by 2024-25.”
Regional markets key
Sharing her views on what would attract more Nepalese tourists to Spain, Ambica Shrestha, Honorary Consul of Spain in Nepal, said, “A lot of people from Nepal have started flying out of Nepal especially for their holidays. But the most important segment of travellers that visit Spain are those for business. For leisure, tour operators who create Europe packages now must include Spain. Nepalese people, mostly families, feel they must visit Spain. Madrid and Barcelona are the most popular places. The market needs to be developed further to have more Nepalese people visit other places in Spain as well.”
Priya Jayawardena, Honorary Consul of Spain in Sri Lanka, said, “Apart from tourism, many business people also visit Spain from Sri Lanka. In the past few months there have been many students going to Spain mainly to study architecture.”
Highlighting the strategy for the outbound market, Elisa Robles Fraga, Director of Turespaña in India, says, “We have a positive outlook for the future. We have also introduced a microsite that has information regarding Spain and safety norms and regulations called ‘Travel Safe Spain’ and is available at https://travelsafe.spain.info/. I believe this will do an excellent job in conveying all relevant information. Spain is one of the safest countries with strict hygiene and protocols approved by the Health Ministry and are being followed at all tourism establishments. With tourism activity picking up, we expect to engage the travel trade even more with hybrid and physical events in 2022 in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. We also have plans to organise FAM trips for the trade next year.”
