HUNGARY TO OPEN MUMBAI CONSULATE IN DECEMBER
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The Consulate General of Hungary recently hosted a networking evening for diplomats and members of the travel trade to welcome the newly arrived Ambassador–Designate of Hungary and to launch a new India specific promotional initiative. Addressing the attendees, Dr. Norbert Revai-Bere, Consul General, Consulate General of Hungary, unveiled a website on Hungary, designed especially for the Indian traveller in association with Namaste Tourism.
Speaking with the media on the sidelines of the event, Revai-Bere stated that the Indian footfall to Hungary is increasing year on year, and opening a Mumbai consulate on 1 December 2014 will further ease the visa application process for Indians. In addition, the Consulate is in negotiations with VFS to outsource visa processing to further reach out to other markets.
“So far the visas were only issued through the Consulate in Delhi, which means everyone had to travel to Delhi for the same. The Mumbai Consulate will solve that issue and cater to states such as Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Kerala, while Delhi caters to the North and East. However, we feel the need to cover India in a better way and hence hope to rope in VFS who can do that for us,” he explained.
He further revealed that the major relations between India and Hungary still remain in the trade space, and mostly concentrated on multinational corporations. The aim now is to build on relations with medium and smaller enterprises as well. “There is a lot of Indian investment in Hungary as it is the gateway to the European Union for businesses,” he opined.
When asked about direct connectivity, Revai-Bere revealed that the lack of it is a deterrent to tourism from India, and the Consulate has been pushing for flight services. The country recently signed a bilateral air agreement with India, and needs to move on to discussions in the commercial space for connectivity. Currently, the country enjoys good connectivity with India through the Middle East carriers, and hopes that low cost carrier Wizzair, which is very strong in Europe, will cionsider extending their services to Mumbai as well. Revai-Bere added that the country will also start dialogues with Air India and other Indian carriers for the same.
In a bid to leverage Bollywood to attract Indian visitors, the destination has tax incentives in place for producers, and are hoping to welcome film makers to shoot in the country. Furthermore, leveraging their link with India through Rabindranath Tagore, they are adding a Hungarian wing to the Tagore House in Kolkata.