Tourism Ministry to take part in World Travel Market in London from Nov 5-7 – ET TravelWorld

India will participate in the World Travel Market (WTM) in London being held from November 5-7, aiming to enhance inbound tourism and position the country as a premier global travel destination. The Ministry of Tourism in a statement on Monday said it is participating at the WTM with a delegation drawn from nearly 50 stakeholders including state governments, inbound tour operators, airlines, and hoteliers from the Indian travel industry to showcase India’s vibrant cultural diversity and the vast range of tourism products and immersive experiences.

The WTM is being held at Excel London in the UK. With a strong diaspora population of almost 1.9 million, the UK has one of the biggest Indian diaspora, the ministry said.

“A total of 9.5 million foreign tourists visited India during 2023, out of which 0.92 million visits were from the UK, making it the third largest source market for inbound tourists to India,” the statement said.

The ‘Chalo India’ initiative was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to engage the Indian diaspora for promoting India to their non-Indian friends. As part of this initiative, the Indian diaspora will invite their non-Indian friends to explore the grandeur of Incredible India.

This initiative aligns with India’s strategic goal to enhance inbound tourism and position the country as a premier global travel destination, the statement added.

The Ministry of Tourism has developed a ‘Chalo India’ portal where diaspora members can register and refer their non-Indian friends to visit India. Gratis e-tourist visa to the visiting foreign guests is also being given as an incentive under the programme.

Through this initiative, the Indian diaspora will play a vital role in promoting the country as a premier global tourist destination, showcasing its rich heritage and diverse culture to the world, the statement said.

“In order to populate this initiative on a larger scale, and in view of the UK having the second largest Indian diaspora community, the ministry is kicking off the programme under ‘Chalo India’ initiative from London,” it said.

In order to enhance engagement with the travel and tourism trade and industry, the services export council under the Ministry of Commerce is proposing a major inbound expo, ‘Atithi’, later this year, to promote India as a global tourism destination. Abhay Sinha, Director General, Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC), said that they have received the approval from the Ministry of Commerce for holding ‘Atithi’ and will be announcing the dates for the same at a curtain-raiser conclave which the Council is holding in Delhi on August 26.

At the WTM 2024, the focus of this year’s India Pavilion is wedding tourism, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) tourism, and ‘Mahakumbh’. A special mock ‘mandapam’ has been created in the pavilion to give the look and feel of an Indian wedding, the ministry said.

The India Pavilion will showcase India’s rich kaleidoscope of cultures, languages, and traditions, each contributing not only to its rich tourism landscape but also to the gamut of niche tourism experiences such as spirituality and wellness, wedding, adventure, ecotourism and gourmet tourism, it added.

Several other stakeholders, including state tourism departments, tour operators, airlines, PSUs, among others, are participating in the India Pavilion at the WTM.

The co-participants include state tourism departments from Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Puducherry, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, tour operators and destination management companies, airlines, resorts and the IRCTC, the statement said.

India remains the world’s fastest growing major economy and is committed to ensure that its continued growth path is equipped to deal with the challenges of climate change, its goal of achieving net-zero emission by 2070, it said.

The year India held the presidency of the G20, it showcased the diversity and capacity of the tourism potential of the country to the world, the ministry said.

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