India Tourism showcased the immense tourism potential of the country – both business and leisure travel – under the  “Incredible India” banner during the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2017 held in Dubai last month.

A total of 24 participants from India, representing the diversity of heritage, nature, culture and wellness tourism participated in the India Pavilion set up by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.

The India Pavilion had participants representing the State Tourism Departments of Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir, Air India, ITDC, IRCTC, tour operators, travel agents, hoteliers/resorts, wellness, spas and Ayurveda centres, who showcased innumerable tourism products of ‘Incredible India’.

The theme chosen for ATM-2017 was “Yoga & Wellness”. One of the highlights of ‘Incredible India’ being showcased at ATM was the depiction of India as a multi-faceted tourist destination for luxury, wildlife, and wellnes/medical tourism.

India has 35 World Heritage Sites which include historic monuments and natural wonders which are being promoted by the tour operators.

The number of foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India during 2016 was 8.89 million - a growth of 10.7 per cent over 2015. The Gulf and the Middle East region are an important market for India. There has been a consistent and positive growth of foreign tourist arrivals from this region to India over the last three years with the year 2016 having registered an overall growth of around 17 per cent over the previous year.

The Regional Office of India Tourism in Dubai organises tourism road shows/Food Festivals/ Medical Seminars in GCC countries every year. Some of the countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Turkey and Sudan, have registered a significant growth and are emerging as major tourism generating markets for India from this region.

India has emerged as a destination for medical/wellness travel in GCC countries. The percentage of foreign tourist arrivals visiting India for medical treatment has been increasing over the years and growing rapidly since the year 2000. India is poised to become a hub for medical tourism because of several factors viz. world class hospitals with latest technology; highly skilled Indian physicians and surgeons; cost effective treatment; excellent quality of care and nursing; less waiting time for availing of medical services; traditional healthcare therapies like Ayurveda and Yoga combined with allopathic treatment providing a holistic wellness destination.

One of the regions in focus is the North Eastern region of India which comprises the eight States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. These states are known for their unique cultural and geographical heritage. The rich natural beauty, serene landscapes and rare flora and fauna are the main attractions in these areas.

Comprising 73 per cent of the total Himalayan range, the Incredible Indian Himalayas are the greatest show on the earth and are a complete destination in themselves and span across six states of India namely, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and the hill regions of West Bengal.

India’s advantage in respect of promoting cruise tourism is the long coastline from Gujarat to West Bengal and strong positioning of ports that gives natural advantage to the country in attracting international cruise liners. Another advantage for India is its proximity to already popular cruise destinations in the South Asian region.

There is enormous potential in the country to develop cruise tourism, both international and domestic and the Ministry of Tourism is making all efforts to promote this segment by developing required world class cruise infrastructure.

The Ministry of Tourism promotional website (www.incredibleindia.org) is available in Arabic, Chinese (simplified), French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Spanish languages.

India has also taken many steps to liberalize the visa regime with the e-Tourist Visa being made available for nationals of 161 countries. During the year 2016, a total of 10,79,696 tourists arrived on e-Tourist Visas as compared to 4,45,300 during year 2015, registering a growth of 142.5 per cent.

E-visa is now available under three sub-categories i.e. ‘e-Tourist Visa’, ‘e-Business Visa’ and ‘e-Medical Visa’. The window for application under e-Visa has been increased from the existing 30 days to 120 days and the duration of stay in India under e-Visa has been increased from the existing 30 days to 60 days. A complete list of countries is available on https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/tvoa.html.

An e-Ticketing facility has been introduced for booking entry tickets online for the Taj Mahal, Agra and Humayun's Tomb, New Delhi. The URL for booking E tickets is https://asi.irctc.co.in/.

The government is also committed to traveller safety and security whih reflects in the launch of a 24x7 multi lingual tourist infoline. The infoline is availble in 12 languages, including Arabic, since February 2016. This service is available on the Toll Free (from India) number 1800-11-1363 with short code: 1363 to provide support service in terms of providing information relating to travel and tourism in India. The infoline representative will also assist callers with advice on action to be taken during times of distress, if any, while travelling in India and, if need be, alert the concerned authorities.

The Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India has also taken the initiative of providing pre-loaded SIM Card to foreign tourists arriving on e-visa at T3 Terminal, Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi and Cochin International Airport. - TradeArabia News Service