UAE top among visitors from GCC to India

Muscat: UAE tops among the GCC member states, followed by Oman, in sending tourists to India. The region has seen a steady increase in visitors going to India.

“Oman has been one of the major trading partners of India and we are keen on taking that relationship to the next level in all sectors,” Girish Shankar, Additional Secretary at Ministry of Tourism, said in reply to a question by Gulf News at an interactive session with audience at the ‘Incredible India’ tourism road show at Al Bustan Palace hotel here on Sunday night.

“We are seriously considering opening a representative office in Oman and perhaps in the other GCC countries as well,” he further said, adding that the permanent office in Dubai will continue to function.

According to statistics, 40,577 Omanis visited India in 2011, second only to UAE (66,383). “India is a favourite destination for the Arabs, especially Omanis and Emiratis for various reasons,” Vikas Rastogi, Regional Director, West Asia and Africa, India Tourism Board, said.

The other visitors to India from the region include Bahrain (9,587), Iraq (30,808), Saudi Arabia (26,268), Turkey (17,359), Yemen (14,955) and other nations (24,747).

A high-level Indian tourism delegation is in Oman to give a glimpse of the attractive tourism products as well as the countless cultural, spiritual and travel experiences that India offers as a tourist destination.

Shankar said that foreign tourist arrivals to India had witnessed a steady increase over the years. He also pointed out that India was keen on promoting budget accommodation. “The rural tourism is something we are promoting and it is fast catching up with the international tourists,” he added.

The senior tourism official also said that medical tourism in India was growing at the rate of 20 per cent per annum.

In 2011, Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India went up to 6.29 million, fetching foreign exchange earnings to the tune of $16.691 billion, up by 17.6 per cent from 2010.

India’s foreign exchange earnings from tourism grew by an impressive 14.1 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during 2011-2012, nearly double the global average.

A very impressive audio-visual presentation about the various aspects of tourism across India was shown to a packed house at the Majan Ballroom..