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New visa rule unnerves small travel agencies
DUBAI - Small travel agencies fear they will be forced out of business if they cannot meet the large deposits required by the new visa rules.
The changes in the federal visa rule, which took effect on July 29, requires a Dh1,000 deposit for each tourist visa, a cost borne primarily by the travel agents.
For travel agents with a visa quota of 1,000, this would mean a deposit of Dh1 million.
However, a Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department official said the authority was working towards a flexible solution for tourism companies.
Travco UAE chief operating officer Osama Bushra said his agency was considering passing on the costs to their partner agencies in other countries.
"We're looking at sharing the costs and the responsibility with our partner organisations 50-50, but most won't agree," he said.
Dubai Travel and Tour Agents Group (DTTAG) manager Leo Fewtrell said ultimately travellers would suffer if the ongoing costs travel agencies faced pushed small or medium-sized companies out of business.
"Your Dnatas and Al Rais Travel can cope but it's a problem for the medium guys that are doing a good business and keeping those guys in check and keeping prices reasonable, " he said.
However, Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing India Inbound coordinator Kulwant Singh said the deposits would ensure greater responsibility by unscrupulous agents who had previously helped illegal workers in the country.
Additionally, he said, visit visas provided by corrupt agents would now be too high for illegal workers to consider.
Singh, also managing director of Lama Tours, said although there remained some confusion among agencies about the rules, the new system had been working well and turnover time for tourist visa applications had been dramatically reduced - often to just a few hours.
Entry Permit Department Director Major Mohammed Al Hammadi told Khaleej Times on Wednesday that a mechanism will be put in place next week on the kind of flexibility in dealing with the tourism companies as far as the Dh1,000 deposit condition is concerned.
"We are working on a framework which would be convenient and considerate towards the tourism companies.
"We reiterated over and over again to tourism companies and their PROs recently that we were trying to sort out some mechanism related to the modalities of payment of the Dh1,000 deposit," Major Al Hammadi said.
zoe@khaleejtimes.com
mary@khaleejtimes.com
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