Now, get up to 2-day transit visa free in UAE

NEW DELHI: Free transit visa for the first 2-days will now be available for travelers stopping over in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during journey.

“We are pleased with the announcement of the new 48-hour free transit visa, which is now in full operation. Travelers stopping over in the UAE with confirmed onward journeys will now be able to obtain transit visas upon arrival, which will be free for the first two days. The visa can be extended for up to four days for a minimal fee of AED 50 (about Rs 940),” said Ali Al Shaibah, acting ED of Abu Dhabi’s department of culture and tourism (DCT).

“The transit visa was announced in April 2018 and is in operation now. We are anticipating this will boost visitor numbers to Abu Dhabi. With new attractions being added to the emirate all the time, this new visa will encourage even more tourists to visit, to experience the rich culture, heritage and landmarks and make the most of the chance to explore this extraordinary destination,” Ali Al Shaibah added.

Interestingly the much-awaited move comes at a time when Abu Dhabi’s connectivity with India has fallen sharply due to cash-strapped Jet Airways suspending all its flights there. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, which has 24% stake in Jet, was expected to infuse life-saving funds into Jet but that has not happened. Instead, Etihad has offered to sell its stake in Jet and exit the airline completely.

UAE is already the single biggest international destination for Indian travellers. Almost a quarter of all international travel to and from India happens on mega UAE carriers like Emirates, flyDubai and Etihad. Jet Airways, in which Etihad has a 24% stake, used to serve as a feeder to Etihad’s long haul flights from Abu Dhabi.

Anywhere up to 75% of people flying on Gulf, including UAE, carriers are only transiting through those hubs between India and rest of the world. So the decision to grant free 48-hour transit visas is expected to further increase number of visitors to UAE.

Abu Dhabi DCT had recently said it had received over 1 crore international visitors in 2018. “The key markets of India, the US and China have all posted double-digit growth for hotel guests in 2018, underpinning the impressive surge in visitor numbers to the emirate. India and China remain the two top markets for overseas visitors, with the UK, the top European source market, rounding out the top three markets for overseas visitors,” it had said in a statement on February 28, 2019.

“Abu Dhabi has seen huge advances across all areas of tourism sectors, including the cultural, business, family-focussed and medical sectors, with the cruise sector providing more than 350,000 visitors to the emirate in 2018. The emirate’s world-class cultural assets also attracted more than 26,72,732 people; further booting visitation metrics. The UAE capital has also witnessed addition of a number of world-class cultural institutions, such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the reopening of the Qasr Al Hosn site,” it had said.