EASA, an Indian travel start-up, wants to facilitate ‘easy visas’. We spoke to the co-founding team which is currently based in Denver and they shared an elevator pitch in their words. Here is what they have to say:
We are an end-to-end online solution that simplifies the visa application process for Indian passport-holders.
While the travel industry has grown in leaps and bounds with cheap flights and hotels, visa processes continue to be as complex as ever. And the fact that the average Indian needs a visa to travel to over 180 countries, highlights the need for an easy, uncomplicated solution!
On EASA’s website, the user initially has to enter their personal information, which entails questions that are commonly asked in almost every visa form. Once this is completed, the platform auto-completes approximately 70% of any visa application. We then verify the form, and submit it as per the embassy’s guidelines, either electronically or physically at a centre. After a decision on the visa is made, the passport/visa is delivered back to the customer.
Easa Co-Founders: From L to R, Cyrus Sethna and Nihal Daswani
As Indian passport-holders, both of us co-founders were constantly filling out multiple visa forms for family, friends, colleagues and ourselves. While one of us is organised, the other is always looking for an easier way out, but with our combined passion for technology & travel, we came up with the idea of EASA earlier this year.
We are currently in Denver, Colorado at the Travelport Labs Accelerator, the only accelerator program managed by a Travel Company and that has a 100% focus on travel start-ups. Travelport is a $2 billion company and has been a pioneer in the travel industry for over 40 years.
Our time here at the accelerator has helped us speed up the release of EASA and we have successfully launched our online service for Indian passport holders travelling to Hong Kong, one of the world’s foremost ‘super-cities’. For years, Indian citizens have taken advantage of visa-free travel to the city. But in January this year, the HKSAR Immigration Department announced a new Pre-Arrival Registration system (like a visa) which resulted in a 20% decrease of Indians travelling to Hong Kong in the first six months of 2017.
So as EASA launched last week, it was a no-brainer that Hong Kong would be our first destination. Moving ahead, our promise is to strive to make international travel borderless for Indian citizens, and then the entire world!
APPLY NOW for a Hong Kong PAR: www.easa.co
TravHQ Take: We believe EASA has a very interesting business model, especially because different countries have complex visa processes for Indian travellers. There are countries that accept eVisa, Visa on Arrival and also allow you to travel if you have visa of specific countries such as USA, Australia, Singapore etc. If the startup can build on its portfolio of the covered countries, then the value proposition for travellers will be very interesting.
