Description:
As the Indian tourism sector grapples with the impact of global economic slowdown and last year's Mumbai terror attacks, industry
stakeholders are globetrotting to woo tourists, selling India as a "safe, affordable and tourist-friendly" nation.
Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, is organising roadshows across "traffic generating markets" to boost tourist traffic to India.
"The Mumbai terror attacks had an impact on the number of foreign visitors coming into India. The purpose of the roadshows is to assure tourists in the US as well as other countries that India is a safe, affordable and tourist-friendly country," IATO President Vijay Thakur told PTI.
Thakur is leading a delegation of about 30 stakeholders, including tour operators and hoteliers, to five US cities of Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco as well as Canada to hold business-to-business roadshows.
The roadshows, which began in February as part of the Tourism Ministry's 'Visit India 2009' campaign, will run through October this year and cover tourism generating markets of Australia, Argentina, Europe, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Thailand and the UK.
Aiming to bring back tourists to India through the roadshows, the tourism industry hopes to recover losses it has suffered due to the decline in tourist arrivals, particularly after the Mumbai terror attacks.
"We want to take the fear away from the minds of Americans and tourists from other nations and tell them that India is safe. While it may take time for the industry's growth rate to pick up pace, we hope to at least be able to cover our losses," Thakur said at the roadshow held in the city.
The association is hopeful that once the global economy bounces back, business and subsequently leisure tourism will pick up pace too.
Thakur said new offerings like rural, cruise and medical tourism are also being promoted through the networking events among a plethora of other offerings including complimentary air tickets, free stay at hotels and new rural sites for tourists to explore.
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