Indian outbound tourism declines,opens border to Chinese tourists
New Delhi – Tourists outflow from India have registered a significant decline of up to 20 per cent in the last two months owing to weakening rupee against dollar, an industry body survey has said.
The falling rupee is definitely resulting in a slowdown in foreign trips by Indians, mainly the middle-class. The outbound tourist outflow registered a significant drop of 15-20 per cent due to weak rupee,” Assocham said in a survey.
The survey said Indian travel companies are reducing the number of days from packages to make it more affordable for globetrotters.Most of the middle-income groups are looking to offset those costs by opting for shorter duration stays and looking at budget accommodation options.
The survey said most of the travelers are opting for domestic options due to high air fares. The demand for destinations like Kashmir, Ladakh, Goa, Himachal and Sikkim, which thrive on foreign tourists in a normal year are seeing a spurt in domestic travelers.
Likewise, Tourism Ministry has proposed Visa-on- Arrival provision to Chinese tourists as it senses huge potential for exchanges in this sector.
China is among 30 countries for which the Tourism Ministry wants Visa-on-Arrival facility, a proposal if endorsed, will raise to 41 the number of countries that will have such a facility.
“We have proposed Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) facility for 30 countries including Germany, France, Korea, Russia and China,” Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi told PTI in an interview.
The proposal has to be cleared by Home Ministry, he said. Under the VoA facility, a traveller can go straight to the intended country and get visa at the airport itself.
Currently, India has extended VoA facilities to 11 countries including Singapore, Japan, New Zealand, Vietnam and Philippines.
Chiranjeevi said easing of visa regime would help boost foreign tourist arrivals. The aim is to ensure that India has at least one per cent share in international tourist arrivals, he said. India’s share in world tourist arrivals, at present, is about 0.64 percent.
Tourism had led to earnings to the tune of Rs 94,487 crore as foreign exchange last fiscal as the sector witnessed growth of 4.3 percent last year with 65,77,745 foreigners visiting India against 63,09,222 tourists the previous year.- PTI
