By Morkporkpor Anku
Accra, March 15, GNA – VFS Global has affirmed its commitment to continuous engagement in developing innovative solutions to enhance the overall visa application experience.
Mr Hariprasad Viswanathan, the Head- Sub-Saharan Africa, VFS Global said applicants were regularly provided information about visa processing timelines, data protection and privacy assurance, how to detect fraud and the organisation’s value-added services are regularly communicated via key touchpoints.
Mr Viswanathan was speaking at a Media outreach session on the 2023 travel trends and what to expect in the upcoming peak season in Accra.
He advised applicants to be sure to carry all the requisite documentation, including a printout of the checklist, to submit along with the duly filled application form as well as check the VFS Global website before planning to apply on important requirements.
He said 2023 was the year of a significant rise in global outbound travel across the world, including in countries like Ghana.
The Head said the surge in travel activity that began in 2022, continued in 2023 with visa application volumes at VFS Global in Ghana nearly doubling on a year-on-year basis.
“Applications processed at the Ghana Passport Premium Application Centres run by VFS Global have seen a 30 per cent rise during the year, which underlines the desire to travel overseas by the residents of Ghana,” he added.
He said that based on the initial trends, the expectation was the increase in international travel in 2022 and 2023 to continue this year as well.
He said outbound travel had rebounded in 2023 to pre-pandemic levels with tourism, family visits, and educational as well as business trips being the common reasons for outbound travel from Ghana.
He said seeing the surge in demand for outbound travel and with limited appointment slots available, they encouraged their applicants to apply for their visas as early as possible like their flight and hotel bookings.
He said Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics would fundamentally change border management, enabling Smart Borders a few years from now.
He said the need for safe travel had led to greater acceptance of contactless and Do it Yourself technologies.
He said overall securing just the algorithms and data sets was not enough, rather, an end-to-end approach in applying security by design should be adopted and managed on an ongoing basis.
He said the recent rise in eco-conscious travellers, who sought to travel sustainably was also changing, how businesses and locations were operating now from their ‘business as usual attributes to looking to transform journeys by offering meaningful experiences.’
Mr Viswanathan said demand for personalised services which prioritise safe travel E-Visa was emerging as a revolutionary service in the travel domain where travellers could apply for their visa from the location of their choice by leveraging on the highly secure and smart solution developed by VFS Global.
“Our Visa At Your Doorstep service and Premium Lounge services witnessed a strong demand last year,” he added.
Madam Cleopatra Avenorgbo, Deputy General Manager-Operations for VFS Global-Ghana, said the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority in collaboration with Bridge Direct and VFS Global had been awarded a contract to enhance service delivery experience with Premium DVLA Centers.
She said the services would include Driver’s license renewal, replacement, missing license, upgrading of licence and vehicle registration.
She said VFS Global was also awarded the contract to open new passport Application Centres across the country in 2018.
”It currently operates in three locations in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale,” she added.
GNA