As per provisional data received from Bureau of Immigration, the Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during January to April 2023 reached 79% of FTAs during the same period in 2019. The Ministry of Tourism endeavors to position India as a preferred tourism destination in the tourism generating markets to promote various tourism products and destinations and to increase India’s share in the global tourism market. The objectives are met through an integrated marketing and promotional strategy and a synergized campaign in association with the Travel Trade, State Governments and Indian Missions overseas.
The promotional activities include participation in Travel Fairs and Exhibitions; advertising in the local print, electronic and outdoor media; organizing Road Shows, India Evenings, Seminars & workshops; organizing and supporting Indian food and cultural festivals; offering brochure support to tour operators, and joint advertising/joint promotions with airlines, tour operators and other organizations etc. In order to boost visitor arrival Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has declared “Incredible India! Visit India Year 2023”.
Ministry of Tourism, Government of India participated in the major international Travel fairs and Exhibitions in important tourist generating markets in the world as well as in emerging and potential markets to showcase and promote the tourism products of the country. These included WTM 2022 in London, FITUR 2023 in Madrid and ITB 2023 in Berlin.
The Ministry of Tourism had a B2B meetings with Tour Operators, Travel Agents and various other stakeholders and organized the press meet to apprise the travel media of India’s preparedness to welcome international tourists post pandemic. To facilitate the networking of travel trade, India Evenings were also organized during our participation. Further, India pavilion showcased varied tourism products of India including culture, heritage and niche tourism products such as cuisine, wellness, yoga, wildlife and luxury etc.
The Ministry of Tourism has been working very closely with Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs for easing of the Visa Regime in the country. e-Visa scheme is now available to the nationals of 166 countries and it is available in following five categories:
- e-Tourist Visa,
- e-Business Visa,
- e-Medical Visa,
- e-Conference Visa and
- e-Medical Attendant Visa
e-Visa is valid for entry through 29 designated Airports and 5 designated seaports.
This reply was given by Minister of Tourism Shri G.Kishan Reddy in Rajya Sabha today in a written reply.
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