The Union Ministry of Tourism has set a target of increasing India’s share in world tourist arrivals from the present 0.6 per cent to one per cent in the next five years.
“India has emerged as a leading tourist destination with all its varied attractions and arrival of foreign tourists has been increasing, but we need to accelerate the rate of its growth,” Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) K. Chiranjeevi said.
He was speaking at the inauguration of the three-day International Tourism Mart, 2013 in Guwahati.
The mart is the first-ever international tourism event to be organised in North-East that aims at promoting the region as an attractive tourist destination for foreign tourists.
The decision by the Ministry of Home Affairs to lift the restriction of two-month gap on re-entry of foreign nationals to India on a tourist visa would facilitate visitors to the country to a large extent, Chiranjeevi said.
Stating that the relaxation would also benefit the northeastern states, he said: “My Ministry is committed to the development and promotion of tourism in this beautiful region.
“Ten per cent of the Plan budget has to be allocated to the North-East region and I am happy to state that we have exceeded this target which will help in the development of tourism in the region,” he said.
The Union Minister urged all stakeholders to have the vision to modernise, responding to changing trends in the global tourism sector and to partner with the Government to make India realise its full potential in tourism.