A proposal to extend visa on arrival facility to tourists from Germany is under the active consideration of the government, Tourism Minister K. Chiranjeevi said at the inauguration of the India Pavilion at the International Tourism Bourse (ITB) in Berlin in Germany. “Germany is an important source market for India. During the year 2011, over 240 thousand German tourists visited India and we are looking forward to further increasing the tourist traffic between the two countries,” he added. According to him, the foreign tourist arrivals to India constitute only 0.64 per cent of the world tourist arrivals and foreign exchange earnings account for 1.61 per cent of the world tourism receipts. “This is a matter of concern for all of us in the Ministry. Our endeavour is to increase India’s share to 1 per cent of the world tourist arrivals by 2016,”he informed.
Chiranjeevi said today India has evolved itself as a round the year destination. He said, “Our effort is to consolidate on our well developed cultural and heritage products and develop new niche products like rural tourism; wellness and medical tourism; adventure and wildlife tourism; film tourism; monsoon tourism; golf, polo and sports tourism and MICE tourism.”
The Minister is on a five day visit to Germany. During his stay, he will have extensive meetings with tour and travel operators, travel writers and other stakeholders.
ITB is one of the largest international events in which the Ministry of Tourism participates on a very large scale. This year too, an area of 870 sq. mtrs. has been taken for the India Pavilion. The theme of the creative’s being used in the India Pavilion at ITB Berlin 2013 is “Find what you Seek” which highlights the fact that India as a tourist destination has something to offer for everybody. “Find What You Seek” is the second phase of the Incredible India campaign.
A total of 58 participants from India are attending ITB. These include 12 state governments and 46 travel agents / tour operators / hotels / airlines. The states of Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and West Bengal will be represented by their Tourism Ministers at ITB Berlin 2013. As in previous years, complementary space is being provided to the North-Eastern states within India Pavilion for showcasing their tourism potential. The expectation from this event is to see that our partners get enough business in getting tourists from various parts of the world to India.
