India may roll out special tourism packages for Expo 2020 visitors

Dubai: India is likely to roll out special tourism packages for visitors to its Expo 2020 pavilion in Dubai, a visiting minister told Gulf News on Sunday.

India’s minister for Commerce, Industry and Railways Piyush Goyal said the country aims to invite international tourists and business people visiting its pavilion at Dubai Expo site to extend their trips to India and explore real India, the flavours of which will be on display at the pavilion.

He said special packages could be rolled out to attract the Expo visitors to India.

Speaking to Gulf News after a symbolic brick-laying ceremony at the construction site of the India Pavilion, Goyal said the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry has been given the responsibility to talk to the tourism and culture ministries in this regard.

“We will all work along with the states in India to see how we can attract all the people visiting here to go to India and actually see the real India, the flavor of which we are going to showcase here,” the minister said.

During the ceremony, he said it will be the largest ever participation of India in any world exhibition.

He urged the people working on the project to take it as their collective commitment to make India’s the best pavilion of the expo as well.

“Every visitor coming to the Expo should be invited to visit the India pavilion and should be attracted to visit India as well,” he said.

Lauding the more than 3million strong Indian community’s role in the UAE’s growth story, he said the Expo will be an opportunity to each and every one of them to see how to further strengthen the relations between the two countries and ensure that the world gets a flavour of India.

Appreciating the UAE’s “outstanding thought” to host the World Expo in Dubai, the minister said the event would become another driver of the economy for the UAE.

Best of India

The minister stated that India is taking the project very seriously.

“We believe it is an opportunity to showcase to the whole world India’s history, culture, heritage and also the huge opportunity that India offers, the bright future that defines India next and I have no doubt in my mind that this pavilion will come up to be the most popular and most sought after pavilion.”

“We are working with the designers to see how we can showcase the best of India and the best of what is going to come to India in the future. This is an opportunity to show innovation. This is an opportunity to show how India is planning to become a more sustainable nation and obviously the mere fact that India is the world’s greatest opportunity for business, for investment with 1.3 billion people aspiring for a better future. I think there can’t be no better place in the world than India for investment, for trade and for tourism and we wish to make Dubai’s Expo 2020 a showcase project to show that the “Future Is in India”

25 million visits

Najeeb Mohammed Al-Ali, executive director, Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau, said the Expo site will witness 25million visits during the six months of the global event.

“This is going to be your pavilion and also our pavilion. A pavilion that is going to showcase so many good things from India…so many innovations, so many business opportunities.”

He said the pavilion will also be a cultural venue where families can enjoy the cultural heritage of India.

Top Indian diplomats and senior Indian businessmen in the UAE and officials from FICCI and companies involved in the project were also present during the ceremony.

The event also saw a brief cultural programme showcasing different dance forms from various states of India and a percussion drum performance by artists from Kerala.

On Saturday, the visiting minister had officially unveiled the design of the four-storey pavilion, the cost of which is expected to be Dh250million. Several Indian businessmen have pledged to financially support the construction of the pavilion, which began last month.