Going by the fact that it took India many years to achieve an age old target of five million tourists, targeting to double it in just three years seems to be mere wishful thinking. However, as per the Eleventh Five Year Plan, the working group on tourism has recommended a target of 10 million internationals arrivals by 2011.
In its vision document, the ministry of tourism forecasts the achievement of this target by 2010. This ambitious target is proposed to be achieved through diversification of principal source markets, improving the infrastructural facilities such as airports, roads, civic amenities at the tourist destination, increasing the air seat capacity and connectivity, besides avid publicity.
However, in case of domestic tourism, the target to be achieved in 2010 and 2011 will be 725 million and 812 million tourists respectively, assuming an annual growth rate of about 12 percent over the level of 461 million domestic tourist visits in 2006.
The principal source markets would include countries such as Israel, Spain, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, etc. which offer high growth potential. The Eleventh Five Year plan also stresses on the need to concentrate on countries like South Africa, Mauritius, Kenya, Malaysia, Fiji, etc. with a large Indian diaspora for higher tourist arrivals from those countries.
Apart form this, the baby boomers’ group in North America and Europe would be encouraged to visit India by fostering in them the desire to discover one of the world’s oldest civilizations and to enjoy the plurality of cultural enjoyment offered by this country.
Le Passage to India Tours & Travels has been conferred with the National Tourism Award for Outstanding Performance as a Tour Operator, year 2006-07.
“We believe that we are five years young and not five years old as we intend to go a long way forward and achieve many a milestones. The success so far has been achieved by a lot of hard work and through the outstanding support and lasting contribution of all our team across India and overseas business partners”, said Arjun Sharma, managing director, Le Passage to India Tours & Travels.
Headquartered in New Delhi, Le Passage to India Tours and Travels is a destination management company with a pan India presence.
A task force comprising officials of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Tourism Ministry and experts in medical field has been constituted for promoting healthcare tourism, Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
Tourism Ministry has requested all the state tourism departments to promote medical tourism through suitable packaging of identified best hospitals for various specific treatments, Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni said in a written reply.
The Task Force is headed by Health and Family Welfare Secretary.
Ministry does not collect separate information on medical tourist traffic to India and no target about medical tourist has been made, Soni said.
However, the steps taken by the government to promote medical tourism include promotion in overseas market through brochure, CDs, films and other publicity materials. Visa: Indian Missions abroad including those in Western cities grant visas expeditiously in keeping with the relevant norms.
Visas are granted on the same day or the next day of the receipt of application except in the case of applications which require prior approval of the government, she said.
At present, 24 Indian missions have already started outsourcing of collection of visa application forms. Tourists intending to visist India are provided prompt and courteous services when they visit these missions abroad for seeking Indian Visaa, she said.
An international meet on ‘responsible tourism’ will be held in India for the first time. The four-day meet begins in Kochi Friday. The Kochi meet is a follow-up of the first Responsible Tourism Conference held in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2002.
State Tourism Secretary V. Venu said: “It is a recognition for the enormous progress made by the tourism industry in Kerala. The conference will bring leaders in the industry at the local, national and global level together for open dialogue on issues and opportunities crucial for shaping the future of the tourism industry.”
“It is a tribute to Kerala as the first ever Responsible Tourism conference in India is being held in Kerala,” Venu said.
Around 400 Indian and foreign delegates have already been registered. Foreign delegates are coming from over 20 countries including Britain, Germany, Gambia, South Africa, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.
The meet will discuss wide-ranging topics like local economic development and poverty reduction, taking responsibility for destination sustainability, travel philanthropy and the role of government - national and local.
The conference aims to create awareness amongst operators, hoteliers, governments, local people and tourists to take responsibility and action to make tourism more sustainable.
Delegates will visit various sites in Kerala including home stays, heritage precincts, farms and also meet local entrepreneurs who have adopted responsible tourism practices.
The event is being organised by the Kerala Tourism and the International Centre for Responsible Tourism (India) with India Tourism as a partner.
“This is an excellent opportunity for us to tap ideas and learn from international experts to advance responsible tourism development in Kerala and unlock the full potential of our industry,” said Venu.
To increase the flow of tourists from China to India, the government has given approval to open a tourism office in Beijing. This was informed by the Minister of Tourism and Culture Ambika Soni in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
She said that there was a “negligible” number of Chinese travellers who visit Goa.
She said the government has given approval to open the India Tourism Office in Beijing and hoped this would enable Chinese visitors to see the country.
The minister said development and promotion of tourism is primarily the responsibility of the state governments. But the government was playing the role of a facilitator and catalyst to promote tourism in different parts of the country, including Goa.
The activities undertaken by the government include providing financial assistance to states concerned for tourism-related projects, co-ordination with various central ministries, undertaking centralized media campaigns, participation in fairs and exhibitions, printing and distributing brochures.
