Union minister for tourism and culture Ambika Soni has said that the foreign tourist arrivals in India during 2006 were 13.5 per cent higher than in 2005, which was 13 per cent up on 2004. The ministry of tourism has commissioned a study to examine the various aspects of tourism covering existing policies, infrastructure, marketing strategies, etc, in order to prepare a plan for increasing the flow of foreign tourists in the country.

Development of tourism was primarily the responsibility of state governments and the union territory administrations, she said, though the union ministry of tourism provides central financial assistance to states and the union territories for the development of destinations and circuits under a scheme called Product Infrastructure Development for Destinations and Circuits.

Other steps to attract more tourists to India and provide suitable facilities include:

• Enhancing connectivity through increased air capacity and improving road infrastructure to major tourist attractions
  
• Focusing on the growth of hotel infrastructure, particularly budget hotels
  
• Placing on the ministry''s website a guide on select hospitals for health tourism
  
• Launching a social awareness campaign to provide tourists with a sense of being welcome
  
• Direct co-operative marketing with airlines, tour operators and wholesalers overseas
  
• A greater focus on emerging markets, particularly China, East Asian countries like Japan, and South East Asia
  
• Use of the Internet and web marketing
  
• Reinforcing hospitality programmes, including grant of air passage for media personnel and tour operators for familiarisation tours of India, to get first hand information about various tourism products.
  

Statewise arrivals

Land of the rising tourist numbers

Japan is one of India''s top tourist generating markets. Tourist from Japan generally comprise senior citizens, young women in their 20s and 30s, and students. A majority of tourists participate in excursion package tours, mostly to north India. Some students and young travellers enjoy personally arranged backpacking trips. There is also a Buddhist pilgrimage tour to Buddhist sites.

The Taj Mahal is the ''first, the second and the third'' most popular destination among Japanese travellers. It is the symbol of India; its picture appears on every India tour brochure. Consequently, 90 per cent of the package tour itineraries are confined to the ''golden triangle'' of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. Varanasi, Khajuraho, Ajanta and Ellora are the other destinations that Japanese tourists favour.

The ministry of tourism has launched an extensive global media campaign — directly and through its overseas offices — targeting source markets in East Asia, including Korea and Japan as part of its ''Look East Policy'' to get a greater number of tourists with special interest in Buddhist sites.

Sites connected to the life and teachings of Buddha are spread all over India, from Leh in the North to Amaravati in the South and Arunachal Pradesh in the East to Ajanta and Ellora in the West. They can be used to increase tourist arrivals from Japan.

Phase I of the Ajanta Ellora Conservation and Tourism Development Project in Maharashtra was supported by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) with a loan of ¥3.75 billion ($32 million, Rs133 crore). JBIC has agreed to provide loan assistance of ¥7.33 billion ($63 million, Rs260 crore) for phase-II development at Ajanta Ellora. This includes monument conservation, infrastructure development and tourist development.

In 2005 JBIC agreed to give a loan for the development of the Buddhist circuit in Uttar Pradesh. This project includes improving the infrastructure at Buddhist sites at Sarnath, Kushinagar, Kapilvastu, Sravasti and Sankisa.

The India tourism office in Tokyo has been printing literature and publicity material in local languages and has been working closely with Japanese tour operators and travel agents, to familiarise them about the country''s tourism products.

The ministry of tourism organised an international conclave on Buddhism and Spiritual Tourism at New Delhi on 17 and 18 February 2004. This was followed by the dedication ceremony of the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodhgaya on 19 February 2004. The holiest site in Buddhism, it has been declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The ministry also organised a seminar on Indo-Japan Travel and Tourism on 6 December 2005, at the Ashok Hotel, New Delhi, during the visit of a study mission led by the special advisor to the Japanese minister for land, infrastructure and transport. It was a follow up to the joint statement made during the visit of the Japanese prime minister to India in April 2005, and was attended by the Japanese ambassador and members of the Indian travel and tourism industry. It provided an opportunity for the Japanese delegation to interact with Indian tour operators.

A joint statement — Promotion of India-Japan Tourism Exchange — was signed during the visit of the prime minister of India to Japan in December 2006.

The ministry of tourism is participating in the JATA World Travel Fair (WTF) being held in Tokyo in September 2007. It will also be organising a road show and seminar in collaboration with FICCI on the sidelines of the JATA WTF to showcase India''s tourism products to tour operators from Japan. Participation by state governments and the travel trade will ensure an all-round focus on India''s tourism sector at the event.

Bringing down the Great Wall
This year is the ''India-China Year of Friendship Through Tourism'', which was launched in February. Under the action plan adopted between the two countries, tourism and culture minister Ambika Soni and chairman of the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) Shao Quwei, jointly inaugurated the China National Tourist office in New Delhi last week.

Speaking on the occasion Soni said the opening of the CNTA office was an indication of the importance that the government of China attaches to expanding people-to-people links with India through tourism. She said her ministry would provide all necessary support for the smooth functioning of the Chinese Tourist Office.

The UN World Tourism Organisation survey has placed China and India amongst the fastest growing outbound destinations in the world. A very interesting feature of outbound statistics reveals that 78 per cent of outbound traffic from Asia is within the continent itself. The minister said she is confident that if India and China can manage their two-way tourist traffic, it will make a significant contribution to both countries.

The minister said the Beijing Olympics next year were a major event for China, and India too, was gearing itself to hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2010. Mega events like these have enormous tourist value, both during and after the event. Shao Qiwei said that the opening of the tourist office in India would promote bilateral relations. He said his country was looking forward to tourists from India during the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the World Expo in Shanghai.

Earlier the India-China Tourism Forum met to exchange information for future cooperation in the tourism sector between the two countries. More than 120 delegates from India and China attended the meeting. Soni and Shao Qiwei held a brief meeting to discuss ways to further promotion of bilateral relations in the tourism sector.

A high level Chinese tourism delegation led by the chairman of the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) is currently in India at Soni''s invitation. A series of events will be held in New Delhi and Mumbai during its stay in India, which include a China Tourism Night each in New Delhi and Mumbai. Over 200 travel industry representatives in each place have been invited to meet with their Chinese counterparts and explore business opportunities with them.

The action plan for the ''India-China Year of Friendship Through Tourism''includes:

• Unveiling of a joint logo for the year
  
• Launch of a Chinese version of the Incredible India website
  
• Release of Indian tourism literature in Chinese
  
• A 16-member Chinese media / tour operators group visited India in March 2007, under the ''hospitality scheme'' of the Ministry of Tourism. It visited Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.
  
• A CNTA delegation comprising tour operators from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai provinces visited India.
  
• CNTA participated in the South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) exhibition held from 19 to 21 April 2007, in New Delhi.
  
• The Ministry of Tourism organised road shows in Beijing and Shanghai from 23 to 25 April 2007, to showcase India''s tourist attractions in the Chinese market.
  
• The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has extended an invitation to CNTA to participate in the IATO annual convention, to be held in New Delhi from 1 to 3 September 2007.
  
• CNTA inaugurates its office in New Delhi on 20 August 2007. An India-China Tourism Forum is held for interaction between travel trade from India and China. CNTA organises a China Tourism Night in Mumbai on 22 August.
  

The Buddhist sites in India could be of interest to the Chinese. Besides, India could also showcase its cultural heritage and handicrafts. There are many similarities between Indian and Chinese tourism products, which could help in promoting greater cooperation between the two countries:

• Both the countries have a high awareness about each other
  
• Both are fascinating destinations and share a glorious ancient heritage and civilisation, almost as old as mankind
  
• Travelling distances are short, and package tours can be quite economical
  
• Both the countries have cultural diversities and historically warm relations