Health travel agency travel agency New York City Tour CUSCO, which has been the subject of a series of recent regulatory controversies, has been shut down in India by the Government of India.
In a statement to Business Insider, New York-based Travel & Leisure India said the Indian government had informed them that they would no longer be able to operate in India.
We had been in the process of filing our application to obtain a license to operate with the Indian Regulatory Authority (AIR), and we have received the final notification from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and will now apply to the Civil Aviation Authority of India (CAAI) to seek an exemption from operating in India,” the company said.
Travel & Leasure India, a subsidiary of the travel agency group, is one of the largest Indian travel agencies.
It has operations in over 25 countries and is a member of the American Travel Association, which is a trade body that promotes travel by promoting international connections.
It’s unclear why the Government did not seek a waiver of its regulations for the travel agencies, or why it decided to shut them down.
The MEA’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
The Indian Government did issue a press release on Tuesday, saying the travel company’s operations would be allowed in the country in the near future.
However, the press release did not specify what the new policy would entail.
Indian officials have long been complaining about the lack of safety for the millions of foreign tourists that come to India annually.
In recent years, the country has faced a series that have seen at least 10,000 deaths linked to pollution, lack of sanitation, and unsafe conditions in hotel rooms.
The country has also seen at no time have so many fatalities in a single year since 2010.
Travel agencies have faced similar criticisms from the Indian public.
In March, Indian officials announced a crackdown on the sector after a spate of deaths linked the industry to a number of industrial accidents.
A similar crackdown in 2015 saw at least 12 deaths linked travel agencies to accidents.
The travel agencies also face regulatory challenges in other countries, such as the US, where the industry is highly regulated.
In India, regulators have recently begun to crack down on the industry and impose new regulations on foreign travel agencies as well.
In April, India’s tourism minister said the government would crack down hard on the travel industry.
In its latest statement, Travel & Spa India said that it has received an official notification from MEA stating that the travel services provider will no longer operate in the Indian market.
We are disappointed to learn that a significant portion of the global travel industry has been subject to a ban.
We do not know the details of the proposed new licensing policy, but we will be seeking clarification from the ministry as soon as possible.