The Hindu Business Line : Roadshows to boost India tourism in Gulf countries

BUOYED by a significant rise in overall tourist arrivals into India by 16 per cent in 2003 and an increase in tourists from the UAE compared with 2002, the India Tourism Office in Dubai has planned a series of promotional campaigns to maintain the healthy trend in the current year.

Figures made available by the Dubai office showed that overall foreign tourist arrivals to India totalled 27,50,290 in 2003, compared with 23,84,364 in 2002. The biggest increases were in the months of January, May, June, July and December, with June recording a 27.5 per cent increase over the same month in 2002. Foreign exchange earnings jumped up to $3.6 billion in 2003 compared with $2.92 billion in 2002, a rise of 23.3 per cent.

Mr Said Iqbal, Assistant Director, India Tourism Office, Dubai, told Business Line that many of the countries coming under the jurisdiction of the Dubai office like Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and the UAE have recorded a considerable upward trend last year, with the percentage share going up by 15 per cent from this region. From the UAE, the number of foreign visitors to India went up to 26,000 in 2003, compared with 21,483 in 2001 and 22,027 in 2002.

To promote tourism in the region in the wake of this positive trend, the Dubai office, under directives from the Indian Ministry of Tourism, has been applying multi-pronged strategies. This year, the promotion flags off at the upcoming Dubai Shopping Festival, DSF, where the Dubai office will have a stand at the India pavilion in the Global Village.

For the first time, the Tourism Office will relay three different 20-second ads on the digital TV screen to be shown from two locations at the DSF, round the clock. This is expected to bring wide exposure as the DSF attracts an average of three million visitors from the GCC States and nearby countries. An added attraction at the Global Village will be the cycle rickshaws to be brought in for the festival, two of which will be sponsored by the India Tourism office, he said.

Plans are also on to hold roadshows and seminars in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Qatar and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks. The roadshows will be led by the senior Ministry officials and involve Air India and the Indian missions in these countries. The office has a big on-running campaign in the UAE local print media, while a two-month TV campaign was launched last month that airs on Arabic channels like MBC, LBC and FTV and Channel 2 that cover the entire region.

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