INDIA BECKONS AT DUBAI’S ARABIAN TRAVEL MARKET

By Mehveen Khalid / Dubai

India is a kaleidoscope of diversity and culture. With its rich civilization  natural beauty, vivid festivals, exotic beaches and architectural marvels the country charms everyone – from bagpackers to high-end tourists. Whether it’s the grandeur of the palace and heritage hotels of Rajasthan or the serene calm of houseboats in Kashmir, India mesmerizes those who visit it. From the magnificent Himalayas to the beautiful backwaters of Kerala, the country is home to more than 28 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites. It is a land that overlaps many centuries, tastes, religions, customs and colours. For the discerning traveler, India offers an incredible mosaic of wonderment.
“In 2011, total foreign tourist arrivals (FTA) in India stood at 6.29 million as compared to 5.58 million FTAs in 2010. India Tourism has set a target of increasing the share of India in world tourist arrivals from the current 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent by the year 2017 and has prepared a multi-pronged strategy to increase India’s global share of tourist arrivals. This includes development of world class infrastructure and undertaking aggressive promotional and marketing activities,” Vikas Rustagi, Regional Director (West Asia and Africa), India Tourism, told INN.

Notably India has become a round the year destination for global tourists. This is evident from the year-round tourist traffic to the country. Recently the government of India lifted restriction on two-month gap on re-entry of foreign nationals, including that from the UAE, between two consecutive visits on a tourist visa. With the modernisation of airports all across the country, adding more hotel rooms, especially in tourist places, combined with a recently launched clean India campaign, the country is all set to welcome an additional number of global holiday makers.

Holidaymakers from the Middle East too have started to explore India in a big way. “There has been a consistent and positive growth of foreign tourist arrivals from the Gulf and the Middle Eastern region to India over the last two to three years, with the year 2011 registering an overall growth of around 14 per cent over the previous year. Some of the countries, particularly the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen and Turkey are emerging as major tourism generating markets for India from this region,” Rustagi added.

India’s uniqueness is the country’s biggest USP. From the Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat, the only natural habitat to pure Asiatic lions to the Dachigam National Park in Kashmir, home of the endangered Hangul, a rare red deer, India is one of the planet’s most biodiverse regions. Add to that the famed Indian hospitality. The country, in the form of luxury trains, offers a unique tourism product. Holidaymakers can relish the sights and smells of India on luxury trains that are equipped with all modern amenities. Curiously there are only a few places on earth where a traveler is subjected to such royal attention, as the train chugs along various tourist hot spots across the length and breadth of the country. Royal Rajasthan, Palace on Wheels, Golden Chariot, Maharaja Express and Deccan Odyssey being the prominent luxe carriages.

As more and more people from the region travel to India for medical treatment, the country has become an established name in healthcare tourism too. “The percentage of foreign tourists visiting India for medical treatment has been growing steadily since 2000. The world has taken note of the massive transformation that has taken place in the Indian healthcare sector, particularly in the secondary super-speciality care, in the last two decades,” adds Rustagi. With world-class hospitals, highly skilled Indian doctors, low-cost treatment, exotic wellness spas, traditional healthcare therapies like Ayurveda and Yoga, India beckons those who wish to rejuvenate and revivify their senses.

The Regional Director, India Tourism, assures that India remains a safe place to travel to despite a few incidents of harassment that have come to light recently. “It is a safe destination and the recent instances are only aberrations. Forty per cent of 6.65 million foreign visitors to India last year were women who did not report any major problems during their visit. While the country continues to receive repeat visitors, it remains a safe destination for international visitors including women tourists. However foreign visitors need to exercise caution, just as local residents do, while travelling through or staying at isolated places, to guard against becoming victims of undesirable elements.”

Notwithstanding the caution, the fact remains that India’s geographic proximity to the Middle East serves as a natural connect between the two regions. Most of the tourists from the UAE are conversant with Hindi/Urdu and find minimum language barrier while holidaying in most parts of India. Bollywood, with its strong cultural pull, manages to have a huge appeal on this region. “With as many as 140 direct and indirect flights from the UAE to various cities of India, sky is the limit for this sector. As the country continues to upgrade its infrastructure and offer more cost-effective options, we expect more footfalls to the country in the months ahead,” concludes Rustagi.

As part of its participation under the Incredible India banner, the entire gamut of India’s tourism potential is on show at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the largest tourism show in the Gulf and Middle East in Dubai.