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INDIA Tourism is set to showcase the country’s myriad attractions at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2012, even as the country plans to roll out an international marketing campaign.
Vikas Rustagi, regional director (West Asia and Africa) for India Tourism Dubai said, “India is such a diverse country, with such a diverse tourism product that we cannot real put a finger on one segment. At ATM, the focus will be on culture, traditions and festivals and all the travel experiences that come with it.
“This could range from luxury experiences in one of our palace hotels, a luxury tented camp or on board one of our luxury trains. We recently introduced the Royal Rajasthan on Wheels, which is a luxury train developed on the lines of the Palace on Wheels.” India witnessed a one million increase in visitor numbers in 2011 over 2010, and is already seeing a rise of three per cent this year over last year’s quarterly figures.
“There is a high level of interest from the Middle East, and even more so from Saudi Arabia which saw a growth of nearly 41 per cent. The UAE too has shown some consistent growth with arrivals increasing by 7.8 per cent, while we saw over 22 per cent growth from Oman,” Rustagi said.
The country’s proximity to the Middle East, a large number of flight connections and the availability of luxury accommodations are among the top reasons for this growth.”
He said the Middle East region is extremely important for India as it is a high-yield market with guests looking for longer stay periods, many in the country’s fabled five-star hotels and palaces. “Our efforts in these markets will continue in 2012 with road shows and workshops as well as with our participation at key events like GIBTM and ATM,” he added.
With the large number of Indian expats living in the region, Rustagi believes that visitors from the region are more comfortable travelling into India today. “They know the people, the food, and the culture. Language too is not a barrier. However, we are also looking at more opportunities to serve our Arabic-speaking guests, by offering short courses in Arabic to agents and tour operators.”
Rustagi says the large number of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) living in the region form a crucial part of tourism into India. “NRIs in the region have strong spending power and encourage them to come back home and visit new destinations across the country. Pilgrim travel is one such aspect that is very important for them many Indians like to take time out of their holiday to go on pilgrims to places like Ajmer or Tirupathi,” he said. “The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation and the ITC Group of Hotels are constantly putting together cost-effective pilgrimage deals such as the ‘Char Dham Yatra’ packages which cover the four piligrimage places in India that are widely revered by most Hindus,” added Rustagi.
This year participation at ATM from India has increased by 40 per cent compared to last year. There will be 32 booths/ co-exhibitors including four State Tourism Departments (Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Kerala), airlines, and the hospitality and tourism industry from India.
Rustagi is also keen to highlight luxury, wildlife and wellness/ medical tourism in India at ATM, keeping in mind the potential of these products in the Middle East and Gulf region.
“We have destinations like Madhya Pradesh that is keen to promote Wildlife Tourism. This is a state that boasts of several national parks including the Bandhavgarh National Park and the Kanha National Park both outstanding national park and wildlife reserves that boasts of several rare species of birds and wildlife. These parks have developed tremendously over the years and offer some new facilities including eco-friendly wildlife safaris.
“At the same time we have our cruises, from the popular backwater cruises in Kerala to river cruises in the Bramhaputra in East India. These rivers cruises of India reflect the local way of life, and travel by boat is a wonderful way to discover areas which are otherwise almost inaccessible,” he added.
Another new aspect of tourism in India is the luxury tented accommodation in the high-attitude regions of the Himalayan mountain range.
“With all these offerings, we are also trying to work on reassuring the international markets about our Incredible India campaign and have decided that visibility is key. For this we will begin an international media campaign this year,” he said.
India Tourism works very closely with the trade in the region. “Ultimately they are the ones responsible for pricing our product and selling it to the end customer. Our job is to ensure these Indian tour operators are in touch with the market and have access to the best products. We use platforms like ATM to do this as it allows them to interact with the buyers and the sellers,” he added.