Centre banks on this new policy to strengthen tourism sector
Premium- In the coming days, five lakh free e-tourist visas will be issued by India
In order to kickstart inbound travel, India has announced that it will offer five lakh free e-tourist visas and the country is now opening up for international travel in a calibrated manner, said an announcement by the government.
All airports, railways and road transport have taken adequate measures for public safety and so have tour operators and hospitality operators, said Rakesh Kumar Verma, additional secretary, Ministry of Tourism at the inaugural session of the ‘Tourism Week’ at the India Pavilion in Expo2020 Dubai.
The ‘Tourism Week’ (3-15 January) being organised by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, comprises various sessions presided over by representatives from the Ministry of Tourism and States including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, among others.
Verma added that the government is coming out with a new tourism policy to strengthen and build capacity of the tourism sector in order to provide better services and facilities to tourists visiting the country.
The policy, he said, will create five missions including National Green Tourism Mission, the National Digital Tourism Mission, Sectoral Mission on skill development; the National Mission on Destination Management, to focus on ensuring synergy and coordination amongst public and private stakeholders and National Mission on Tourism MSMEs to support and facilitate the start-ups, micro, small and medium enterprises.
The Ministry of Tourism in partnership with tourism stakeholders will launch various incentives and initiatives to encourage and facilitate visits to India, he said. India will host the G-20 summit next year and many meetings across various tracks will be held in the country in various cities.
Aman Puri, the consul general of India in Dubai and deputy commissioner-general for India at Expo 2020 Dubai said, travel and tourism is a crucial sector to the Indian economy, contributing significantly to both the employment and the GDP. "By 2030, we are expecting this sector to contribute upwards of $500 billion to our GDP. Expo 2020 Dubai is the first Expo in the MEASA (Middle East, Africa and South Asia) region, and Indian visitors are largest in terms of visitors by nationality at the Expo.
He added that India-UAE tourism is one of the busiest sectors in the world fuelled by the 3.3 million Indian diasporas in the UAE. While UAE to India sees 50,000 tourists a year, UAE receives over 6 million Indian tourists.
"We would like to urge the Dubai Tourism Board to continue sharing India’s story and continue marketing various aspects of India’s tourism sector such as Sustainable, Spiritual, MICE to name a few," said Puri.
Hoor Al Khaja, associate vice president, international operations for the department of economy and tourism of Dubai said, Indian nationals form a very important part of the city's multinational fabric accounting for the largest proportion of the expatriate population in the UAE. "We are pleased to see that India’s iconic pavilion continues to be one of the most visited pavilions and a major attraction amongst visitors."
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