India tourism targets new groups of visitors

The Indian Ministry of Tourism is stepping up its efforts to target new groups of tourists such as eco and adventure travelers and highlight the tourism potential of relatively less-known products and areas.

One region in focus is Northeastern India. The region comprises the nine States of Arunchal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Megalaya, Misoram, Nagalan, Sikkim, Tipura, and West Bengal. These states share international borders with Tibet, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Myanmar and are known for their unique cultural and geographical heritage. The rich natural beauty, serene landscapes, and rare flora and fauna are the main attractions in these areas.

India as a picture of unity and diversity can best be seen in the attributes of its people spread across different regions that together combine to form “Incredible India.” Its culture, tradition, history, and mythology, combined with the vibrancy of its people, produce an ethos unparalleled in the world. With its temples and mosques, desert and mountains, vivid festivals, architectural marvels, and accommodation from budget to 5 stars, luxurious camps and train journeys, India has charmed its visitors. The country offers unique travel experiences across the country on an emotional, physical, intellectual, and spiritual level. Besides its rich history and culture, which have attracted tourists from across the world, several niche products have been developed by the Ministry of Tourism such as rural tourism, wellness, medical, adventure, golf, film, MICE, etc. Its geographical features and variety of tourism products make it a 365-day tourism destination.

The present tourism strategy aims at increasing India’s share in world tourist arrivals from the present 0.6% to 1% by 2016. For achieving these objective, the Ministry of Tourism, government of India, has stepped up its promotional activities and is taking several initiatives for overall growth of the sector, including the development of tourism infrastructure and skilled manpower. The recently-launched international campaign, “Find what you seek,” indicates a paradigm shift with the focus now being on the consumers. The emphasis is on the fact that tourists from all over the world can find in India the destination or product of desire in India. The campaign create awareness of the destination and various tourism products available.

Incredibleindia.org is being redeveloped to provide all tourism related services from planning to reservations in a single website. Virtual walking tours have been introduced in which users get 360-degree views of the roads they will walk on, as well as of the destination. They can access, tag, and review “points of interests,” i.e., hotels, shops, monuments, parks, etc. and also view the interiors of several key locations, all powered by a database of a few hundred thousands of places. The Ministry of Tourism has set the target of providing one “walking tour” in each India state within two years. Incredibleindia.org is arguably the first to launch such a service.

The website now facilitates the booking of domestic air tickets, train tickets, bus tickets, hotel rooms, and tour packages through appropriate links. A travel planner created in collaboration with Google India is available on the website. The website also has links to the online visa application form as well as information on the India visa regime. Information is provided about international flights to and from three Indian airports. Free audio guides will soon become available for download on most smart phones which will turn such phones into personal tour guides.

The India Himalayas are a complete destination in themselves that can be explored around the year for a variety of experiences. Comprising 73% of the total Himalayan range, the incredible Indian Himalayas are the greatest show on the Earth and span across six states of India namely, Yammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarkand, Sikkim, Arunchal Pradesh, and the hill regions of the West Bengal. Travelers can look toward the Indian Himalayas for skiing in winter, bio-diversity hotspots during the spring, mountaineering expeditions during the summer, and a variety of leisure and cultural activities throughout the year.

In order to popularize the Indian Himalayas as a tourist destination, the Ministry of Tourism, government of India, has recently launched a campaign called “777 days of the Incredible Indian Himalayas.” There are various activities involved in this campaign including a television campaign with two 60-second films titled “Greatest show on the Earth” and “Life altering journey.”