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Indians have emerged as the second largest group of overseas visitors to the United States this summer, despite long wait times for visa interviews and high airfares. The US commerce department’s National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) recently released its “Inbound Survey of International Air Travellers (SIAT)” for the second quarter of 2023 (April-June).
According to the survey, Canada was the largest source of visitors to the US, with 26 lakh visitors arriving. The United Kingdom was the top source market for overseas visitors, followed by India, Germany, France, and Brazil. Mexico, which shares a land border with the US like Canada, saw 7.2 lakh citizens flying in this summer.
Consequently, Indians ranked third in terms of the number of people flying into the US this summer. However, Canada and Mexico remain the top two source markets for visitors arriving by all modes of travel, including air and land. India ranked fourth overall, after the UK.
Travel industry insiders suggest that the number of Indians visiting the US could have been higher if not for visa delays. The wait period for B1/B2 visitor visa applicants in India is still around 1.5 years, although it has decreased from the nearly three-year wait last winter.
The US Embassy has implemented measures to reduce the wait time. Currently, in Mumbai and Delhi, the B1/B2 interview wait time is 596 and 542 days, respectively, according to the US State Department website. In Chennai, it is 526 days, Kolkata 539 days, and Hyderabad 506 days.
In a first for India, the US Embassy has processed over 10 lakh non-immigrant visa applications this year, an increase of almost 20 per cent compared to pre-Covid levels in 2019 and 2022. The embassy stated, “Indians now represent over 10 per cent of all visa applicants worldwide, including 20 per cent of all student visa applicants and 65 per cent of all H & L category (employment) visa applicants.” Last year, over 12 lakh Indians visited the US.
Besides visa delays, airfares also remain high. One-way fares are often higher than the return fares from pre-Covid times due to factors such as the closure of Russian airspace, which has led to a decrease in nonstop connectivity between India and the US. Air India currently offers the highest number of nonstop flights between the two countries, as it still overflies Russia, allowing for the shortest routes.
According to the NTTO, the top states visited by overseas visitors this summer were New York, Florida, California, Nevada, and Texas. The average overseas visitor stayed for 19 nights and spent USD 1,933 while in the US. Overall travel spending in the US during the second quarter of 2023 was estimated to be USD 14.9 billion, a 29.5 per cent increase from the same period in 2022.
The main purpose of the trip for most visitors was vacation/holiday, followed by visiting friends/relatives and business. Shopping was the top leisure activity, followed by sightseeing, visiting national parks/monuments, art galleries/museums, and exploring small towns/countryside.
with TOI inputs
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