BLS International Services Ltd. on Monday, October 16 said it has won the Schengen global visa outsourcing contract for Slovakia in 18 countries with over 54 offices.

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With this new contract, BLS International will be entrusted with the responsibility of not only offering tourist visa services and business visa services but also national visa services, all with the aim of facilitating seamless travel and immigration procedures.

The company informed the stock exchanges that as per the industry data, 2.64 million tourists travelled to Slovakia in 2021, and the numbers are expected to increase in-line with travel trends.

"Aligned with the core Schengen principles, we are eager to enahnce the visa application experience for all, setting new industry benchmarks through innovation and customer-centric solutions. As Slovakia emerges as an enticing and fascinating new tourism destination, significantly contributing to the growth of the travel industry, we are keen to play our part," said Shikhar Aggarwal, the joint managing director of the company.

BLS International outsources services for diplomatic missions and governments. Last month, the company announced, twice on the same day, that it had suspended the Indian visa services in Canada till further notice, attributing the same to "operational reasons". After the first announcement on its website, the company took down the message, following which it reinstated the same within two hours, attributing the back and forth to a "technical glitch".

The company however said the suspension of services would have a negligible impact on its financials. For the previous fiscal, the Canadian visa issuance business contributed to less than 2 percent of the annual revenue.

Shares of BLS International are trading 6.4% higher at Rs 266.20. The stock has gained 55% so far this year and is nearing its record high of Rs 302.

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(Edited by : Hormaz Fatakia)