Emirates to provide online visa service

Emirates Airlines move to provide visas for passengers could boost tourism to the country.

Emirates Airline will become the first carrier in the Gulf to arrange tourist visas for passengers online in a move that could boost visitor numbers. The programme could attract more tourists from India, Egypt and eight other countries who are not automatically granted visas on arrival. The visas for 96 hours and 30 days, offered through the airline's website as part of a ticket reservation, were announced a day before the airline's sister carrier, flydubai, begins a new programme to offer tourist visas by SMS and e-mail, in partnership with the immigration authorities.

The two moves will contribute to the Dubai Government's strategy to boost the tourism sector by encouraging more visitors to stop over in the emirate for several days between flights, and pulling in tourists from a wider number of countries. The new system would send the message that visiting Dubai was easier than people think, said Manu Mehrotra, the general manager of Al Tayer Travel. "Everything to make it more convenient would certainly go a long way," Mr Mehrotra said. "The numbers just need to go up as much as possible to fill the hotels once again."

Visitors from 33 countries that include the US, Britain and Japan receive their visas on arrival in the UAE and do not need to pay a fee. The Emirates Airline programme allows visitors from 10 additional countries to pay the fee and get a visa online within four days, without having to visit an office or embassy. The new programme "requires none of the running around often associated with submitting forms, securing approvals and collecting visas", said Richard Vaughan, the airline's senior vice president for commercial operations worldwide.

The introduction of the programme this month "will facilitate travel for scores of tourists visiting the emirate during the Dubai Summer Surprises", Mr Vaughan said. He was referring to a two-month festival starting next month that involves live performances and other events, plus discounts at shopping malls and hotels to bring more visitors to the emirate in the hottest months. Flydubai, the budget carrier owned by the Dubai Government, will tomorrow start a three-month trial of a similar system that directs passengers to fill out a form on the website of the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department, then present a printed bar code or an SMS message on arrival in Dubai to retrieve their visa.

The programme could also save tourists money. Emirates said it would charge Dh161.50 (US$43.97) for a 96-hour visa and less than Dh210 for the 30-day visa, and a Dh64 service fee. Mr Mehrotra's company arranges visas for visitors and normally charges between Dh300 and Dh350 for the 30-day visa, he said, with the extra margin needed to cover "overhead costs". Providing help with visas was not a main part of the company's business but other companies "that are in the business of visas" can charge far more, he said.

But the new programme would not address the question of security deposits for visas that some experts have said was a major hurdle to further growth in tourism from developing countries. Tourists from countries bound by visa restrictions - all but the most developed countries - are often asked to put down a deposit, which is typically between Dh5,000 and Dh9,000, to secure a tourist visa through a hotel or travel agency in Dubai.

The deposit is not mandatory by law but the hotel or tourist agency, which acts as the visitor's sponsor, uses it as a form of protection in case the visitor overstays his visa. Sponsors must pay at least Dh5,000 fees if a visitor overstays. Emirates did not respond to a request for comment on the deposits it charges visa applicants. [e-mail]