Running the business ・ Behind the scenes ・ Updated 2026

One visa, from ten people to three: iTour's visa automation

A visa service looks like just "collect documents, submit, deliver", but at volume, the data shuffling in between eats up the whole team. This post explains how iTour automated that part: not to cut staff, but to pull people out of "copy and paste" so they can do the work that really needs people.

Before automation, how did one visa get processed?

At the time the visa department had about 10 people, and the strategy was very focused: only the two online services, Vietnam e-visa and Vietnam airport fast track. We even paused physical-document services like passports and Taiwan Compatriot Permits for a while, to concentrate resources on business that could scale.

Even with that focus, the process was very labor-intensive:

1. Download order data from platforms such as KKday and Klook.
2. Manually convert the data into the format suppliers need, then send it on.

The problem was step 2:

• Time lags: between an order coming in and going out, it sat waiting for manual work.
• Risk of typing errors: moving data by hand, one wrong field means one rejected application.
• Almost no checking: mistakes were often only found when an application was rejected.

What did automation do?

The core is a "one-click conversion": platform order data is converted effortlessly into the format suppliers need, done in about a second, with no time lag and no manual re-entry of data.

Even more important, we added automatic error checks and alerts: the system first picks out obvious problems for you (missing fields, wrong formats, odd-looking dates), so the time once spent "moving data" now goes into reviewing the few records with alerts. People only handle the exceptions the system flags, so accuracy naturally goes up.

After automation, how big is the difference?

• Volume per person: before, one person could serve only about 500–600 applications a month; now one person can serve 1,000–2,000 applications, about 2–3 times as many.
• Room to spare: this number isn't at the ceiling yet. Orders aren't at full capacity right now; as orders grow, the same team can handle it.
• Services back: with staff freed up, the passport and Taiwan Compatriot Permit (MTP) services we'd paused are open again, so customers can get everything done through one LINE contact.

What difference does this make for customers?

• Faster: orders go out as soon as they come in, without the lag of waiting in a manual queue.
• Fewer mistakes: data isn't moved by hand, plus automatic checks before submission, so the chance of rejection drops.
• Handles volume: even a group of a hundred-plus applications arriving at once doesn't cause a jam.
• We can answer messages: with people not buried in file conversion, there's time to reply to customers properly and handle urgent cases and Visa Expedite requests.

Visa automation: FAQ

Doesn't automation make errors more likely?

The opposite. Moving data by hand is the source of errors; the system's conversion rules are fixed and there are automatic checks before submission, so there are fewer error points and they're caught earlier.

So what do people still do?

The work that needs people hasn't shrunk; it's just changed: judging exceptions, communicating with customers, handling rejections and resubmissions, chasing and urgent cases, and on-site coordination for airport fast track.

Can others in the industry use this approach?

Yes. The point isn't which tool you buy, but first working out "which step is pure data shuffling"; that step should be handed to the system.

See iTour visas & fast track Meet the iTour team

Further reading: Vietnam e-visa 2026 guide ・ How iTour handles crises during a trip