India Tourism Mart aims to woo more tourists to the country: K J Alphons

The first ever India Tourism Mart, organized by the Ministry of Touism, Govt of India, is the brainchild of K J Alphons, Minister of State for Tourism. “The Tourism Mart aims at attracting more tourists to the country,” said the minister while talking to Tourism News Live in an exclusive interview.

Minister Piyush Goyal will inaugurate the first edition of India Tourism Mart in Delhi on September 17. The Mart also aims at bringing together the Indian tourism industry to the international players.

While the international tourist arrivals grew by a remarkable 7 per cent in 2017 to reach a total of 1,322 million, the Indian tourism industry grew 14 per cent and the revenue generated through foreign tourist arrivals grew 19.2 per cent.

The Tourism Ministry is targeting to double this number in the coming years. Tourism has contributed 7 per cent to the GDP of India, which is also planned to be doubled.

Almost 60 tour operators and hospitality players will participate in the first Tourism Mart. The minister also informed that the tourism ministry has plans to conduct more roadshows in international countries.

“Over 10.5 million overseas trips were made by Chinese nationals in the first year of the new millennium. However, the number of Chinese tourists visiting India is very low considering the other destinations,” the minister said pointing the need to change this trend.

The Chinese travellers can easily reach India in less than 5 hours’ time. The Tourism Ministry has planned many projects to attract the Chinese travellers. The ministry also has plans to open a regional office in China.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is Aamir Khan who has most number of fan following in China. The ministry is planning to rope in Aamir Khan as the brand ambassador to attract the Chinese travellers.