| India is likely get 20 per cent more Arab tourists this year
Several initiatives, aimed at making travel to India a world class experience for tourists from the Middle East, are underway and the country is likely get 20 per cent more Arab tourists this year, a high-level Indian delegation has said here.
The delegation comprising ministers of state governments of Kerala, Goa and Uttar Pradesh and senior officials from India Tourism are here to attend the Arabian Travel Market 2006, the largest travel trade show in the Middle East, to strengthen efforts of making India the top tourist destination of the world.
Rajeev Talwar, Additional Director General (Tourism), Government of India, told reporters here on May 4 that various initiatives are underway to provide Middle Eastern visitors with a world-class experience.
In the first quarter of this year, there has been a 24 per cent rise in the number of Arab tourists as compared to the same period in 2005. India earned US $5.7 billion from just 3.92 million foreign tourists last year since their average spending stood at US$1,500.
"Some 35,989 tourists from the Middle East have visited India in the first quarter of 2006 and we expect an overall growth in 2006 of over 20 per cent from the region this year," he said.
" India today is a transformed tourist destination competing to give the best. The Lonely Planet in a survey of 167 countries selected India as one of the top five destinations of the world," Talwar said.
Kerala's Tourism Minister Venugopal said product diversification is also being given due consideration and importance.
( www.indiadaily.com) | 
