This is India's decade as global destination for travel and investments: VFS

Chalo India: India’s bustling and diverse economy, a huge and young population and its cultural heritage result in it being an attractive destination for not only visitors, but also  investors, CEO of world's largest visa outsourcing company said.

Founder and CEO of VFS Global Zubin Karkaria said India is undergoing a rapid economic and social transformation.

"This creates new opportunities for business, trade, tourism, and culture. I truly believe this is India's decade," he said.

VFS Global is “very optimistic” about India’s prospects as a global destination and source for inbound tourism and outbound travellers, he told PTI. 

VFS Global is known for creating a new industry of visa and passport outsourcing in 22 years since it first started operations. WIth a presence in 149 countries through 3,353 application centres, the company has processed 278 million applications and 130 million biometrics enrolments.

As a partner for 67 governments, which includes the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance (the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand) and 24 of 27 Schengen countries, Karkaria said VFS Global is a truly Indian success story that has gone global.

The company became among the first made-in-India unicorns and a global leader in its field, Karkaria said.

"We remain committed to supporting India's growth story by providing seamless and tech-driven visa services to events, to secure cross-border mobility for people and trade. This is to and from India, thereby contributing to India's economic growth,” he said.

Karkaria said there is a lot of excitement and interest among global CEOs in India, he said, while being in the US for meetings 

Karkaria was formerly the CEO of Kuoni Travel Management Ltd, which is a 118-year-old former travel services provider headquartered in Switzerland.

India has been a land of opportunities, and it is expected for the country to be the fastest-growing major economy in the next three years, Karkaria said.
“I concur with our Prime Minister's vision and statement when he says that India will soon be the third-largest economy in the world,” he added.

The government has also come up with several reforms for enhancing the ease of doing business, and the ease of living, which are important and basic requirements. 

“But it's very important for people who want to invest and live in India. This is attracting more investors,” he asserted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently launched the 'Chalo India' campaign which boosts  tourism and encourages people to travel to India.
Karkaria said meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions are a major growth driver for India’s  travel sector and economy.

India offers several options across the economic spectrum for travellers, with investments India making in its infrastructure and for connectivity globally.

Expressing optimism on India's future, he said: I am committed to Prime Minister Modi's Viksit (developed) Bharat's vision, which is the government's action plan to transform the country into a developed nation by 2047.

(With PTI Inputs)