Travel agencies in Ahmedabad report an unprecedented January rush for summer 2026 Europe packages as Indian holiday-makers scramble to out-run Schengen visa delays. Appointment slots at VFS centres are now taking 45–60 days to secure, and rejection rates have climbed sharply since new EU document-verification rules came into force last quarter.
The result is a behavioural shift: families that once finalised itineraries in March are locking in flights and hotels two months earlier, often paying higher deposits to guarantee dates that align with school holidays. A typical 10-night western-Europe tour now costs about ₹2.69 lakh per person – ₹44,000 more than last year – as a weaker rupee (-19.4 % against the euro) compounds visa-processing uncertainty.
![Schengen bottlenecks trigger record-early Europe bookings from Gujarat]()
For travellers who prefer to outsource the red tape, VisaHQ can help streamline the application maze. Its India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) consolidates the latest consular requirements, pre-screens documents and even arranges courier pick-up of passports, giving applicants a better shot at beating long VFS queues without multiple trips to the embassy.
Corporate travel managers face similar pain. Conferences in Paris and Frankfurt are being moved online or relocated to visa-friendlier hubs such as Dubai and Singapore. Some engineering firms report postponing on-site acceptance tests because German and Italian consulates have paused group-appointment blocks.
Agents are steering risk-averse travellers towards Japan, Vietnam and Turkey, where e-visas are processed in under 72 hours. They also remind clients that India’s reduced 2 % tax-collected-at-source on foreign tour packages eases cash flow, but only if paperwork starts early enough to avoid last-minute premium-processing fees.
The result is a behavioural shift: families that once finalised itineraries in March are locking in flights and hotels two months earlier, often paying higher deposits to guarantee dates that align with school holidays. A typical 10-night western-Europe tour now costs about ₹2.69 lakh per person – ₹44,000 more than last year – as a weaker rupee (-19.4 % against the euro) compounds visa-processing uncertainty.
For travellers who prefer to outsource the red tape, VisaHQ can help streamline the application maze. Its India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) consolidates the latest consular requirements, pre-screens documents and even arranges courier pick-up of passports, giving applicants a better shot at beating long VFS queues without multiple trips to the embassy.
Corporate travel managers face similar pain. Conferences in Paris and Frankfurt are being moved online or relocated to visa-friendlier hubs such as Dubai and Singapore. Some engineering firms report postponing on-site acceptance tests because German and Italian consulates have paused group-appointment blocks.
Agents are steering risk-averse travellers towards Japan, Vietnam and Turkey, where e-visas are processed in under 72 hours. They also remind clients that India’s reduced 2 % tax-collected-at-source on foreign tour packages eases cash flow, but only if paperwork starts early enough to avoid last-minute premium-processing fees.
