Eric Garcetti travel tips

There’s a big demand from Indian tourists to visit the U.S., but there’s not as much demand the other way around.

The first time that Eric Garcetti stayed at the U.S. Embassy in India was during his college years. A friend’s father had been appointed the U.S. Ambassador, and Garcetti was invited to join on a trip. He had no idea that the embassy would become his home years later.

Congress has set aside $50 million for the U.S. State Department to help “reduce passport backlogs and reduce visa wait times” in a bill signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday and praised by the travel industry this week.

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Skift India Summit – which will undoubtedly be the best travel industry conference ever seen in India – kicks-off in Delhi-NCR on March 20 and will bring together a top-notch line-up of speakers focused on the region’s future. 

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, August 31. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

The U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai has cleared the visa backlog caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and said that applicants can schedule appointments for immigrant visa interviews within the standard time frame, the U.S. Consulate General Mumbai said in a statement.

India-based budget hotel operator and aggregator Oyo said it will add over 1,000 hotels to support over 100 first-generation hoteliers’ growthby December this year as part of its accelerator program. The company launched the program in March with a target of supporting 50 first-generation hoteliers. Hotel owners with more than five running hotels are eligible to be a part of the program.