The Hindu Business Line : India Tourism plans to woo more Gulf tourists

THE India Tourism office expects a 21 per cent rise in international tourist arrivals through an intensified global campaign under the `Incredible India' banner, which will be flagged off at the Arabian Travel Mart in Dubai in May.

In the 11th year of successful participation at the mart, India Tourism has taken a stall measuring 400 sq m, the largest ever space taken by India.

A big delegation from India is expected to attend the event, scheduled to open in the first week of May, according to information made available to Business Line by the Dubai office of India Tourism.

At the mart, India Tourism will showcase the tourism products of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal.

India Tourism has been making all efforts to boost tourist traffic to India, in association with airlines and various travel agencies and trade partners. There has been a 43 per cent increase in outbound tourists from the UAE in 2003 over 2002. Overall, three million international tourists arrived in India in 2003 and the target is to increase this number significantly this year, the office said. With India having been voted among the top five destinations, along with Thailand, Italy, Australia, and New Zealand, according to an independent survey by Lonely Planet, tourist arrivals are expected to get a boost this year.

Ms Rathi Vinay Jha, Secretary of Tourism, said that the Tourism Department in India has announced 35 centres of excellence as `Tourism Hubs'. .

Meanwhile, efforts to boost tourism in the Gulf and West Asian region includes roadshows, seminars and workshops all over the UAE, in addition to participation at exhibitions at Bahrain, Beirut, Cairo and Dubai. The most recent initiative by India Tourism has been to develop brochures on India in Arabic, Turkish and Farsi to get closer to the potential tourists.