India has the ambition to double total foreign arrivals by 2016 and see Bollywood productions as a tool for international promotion.
The Year 2011 was a great year for Indian tourism. According to india tourism authorities during 2011, the number of foreign tourist visits (FTVs) to the various Indian States and Union Territories reached 19.5 million up by 8.85% over 2010. Measured in total tourist arrivals, India recorded almost 6.3 million international travellers up by 8.9%. This number remains however tiny when compared to the huge number of domestic travellers, who generated some 850 million trips last year.
India has however big ambitions to boost total arrivals to the country. During the first six months of 2012, total foreign arrivals reached a new high with a growth of 7.4% reaching 3.24 million tourists, a number however lower than previous expectations of a 10% growth for this year.
But the country has much grander plans and the Tourism Minister has announced his plans to double tourist numbers visiting and hopes to ensure that 1% of all global tourists are in India by the end of 2016. This would result in achieving 11.37 million foreign tourist arrivals by the mentioned year.
While the Incredible India campaign will continue, the Ministry of Tourism wants to involve more the cinema industry. India produces a large number of films which are a brand in themselves. The Ministry of Tourism will provide budgetary support for identified film festivals and provide a single window clearance for film shooting permissions in a new venture to promote ‘Incredible India‘ campaign and the Indian cinema. It will create film tourism verticals, promoting India as a filming destination both for domestic and foreign film producers.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
