Travel service providers have welcomed the government's move to allow booster, or precautionary, Covid shots for all adults and said the development will aid international bookings even further this summer for markets such as Europe, besides making people more confident about long-haul travel.
The government announced on Friday that all adults who took the second vaccine dose at least nine months ago are eligible to get the third dose at private hospitals from April 10. The announcement could not have come at a better time as it coincides with the peak booking season for the upcoming summer vacation, said Rajeev Kale, President and country head for holidays, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) and visas at Thomas Cook India.
"With several top international destinations, including Europe, requiring a booster from between 180 to 270 days post the second dose, the precaution dose opens up the travel opportunity to a far wider selection of international destinations, especially long haul, and this will serve to boost business across leisure, business travel and the powerful corporate MICE group segments," he said.
According to Schengenvisainfo.com, the EU recommended that all European countries agree on a uniform acceptance period for jab certificates, suggesting 270 days. While some have decided to follow this, others have imposed a shorter validity. Belgium shortened the validity to 150 days from March 1.
'Travellers to Gain Confidence'
Austria, which accepts both Covaxin and Covishield for entry, was one of the first EU countries to announce that validity would get shortened to 180 days from February 1.
ET reported on April 5 that a week after the resumption of scheduled overseas commercial air operations from India, demand for international travel had shown a "definite acceleration" and enquiries were soaring despite rising air fares, according to some industry players.
A spokesperson of visa processing firm VFS Global said while it has already observed a significant uptick in overseas travel from India with resumption of regular international flights and many countries lifting travel restrictions, booster doses will further encourage people to plan overseas trips. A MakeMyTrip spokesperson said the opening up of booster doses for all adults above 18 years was a "welcome" move.
"With Covid restrictions lifted across the country, this step will definitely help boosting confidence amongst all including travellers. This will also help in proportionately accelerating demand and smoothening travel to international nations including Germany, Spain, Switzerland that have, as on date, made booster dose a prerequisite for international travellers," the spokesperson said.
STIC Travels chairman Subhash Goyal said that the move will help both inbound and outbound tourism. "When tourists coming into the country would know so many citizens are vaccinated, it will boost their confidence," he said. Himank Tripathi, president of external affairs at EaseMyTrip, said the move will offer an additional level of protection and enable Indians to travel to countries that require a third vaccination or booster dose.
"There is a strong underlying pent-up travel demand and we believe that the booster shot will further boost travel sentiments and accelerate the resurgence of the travel industry to pre-pandemic levels," he said.
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