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India - China Year of Friendship Through Tourism

Two of the fastest growing markets in tourism come closer

India and China have launched “India –China Year of Friendship Through Tourism” in 2007 to promote tourism between the two countries as envisaged in the Joint Declaration issued during the visit of…

India and China have launched “India –China Year of Friendship Through Tourism” in 2007 to promote tourism between the two countries as envisaged in the Joint Declaration issued during the visit of Mr. Hu Jintao, President of the People’s Republic of China to India from 20-23 November 2006. The inaugural ceremony of the tourism year was attended by the Tourism & Culture Minister Smt. Ambika Soni, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the People’s Republic of China Mr. Le Zhoaxing and Minister of External Affairs Shri Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi.



The Minister of Tourism and Culture Smt. Ambika Soni in her speech has said in the 21st Century, India and China, as leading economies of the world, are set to play dynamic roles on the global stage. She said friendship between the two countries is extremely pertinent for world peace and stability.



It is in this larger context that we see the significance of bilateral cooperation through tourism, said Smt. Soni. The minister and the UNWTO (World Tourism Organization) has projected fast growth for both India and China in Tourism by the year 2020.



It is said that our countries will emerge as the leading players in Asia in tourism and set new trends. Rich cultural heritage, varied festivals, traditional values and great works of art and music naturally attract our people to each other. She said the bilateral agreement for cooperation in tourism which was renewed last November sets a direction for us to work together in this area.



The Civil Aviation Agreement signed between the two countries in April 2005 has triggered the airline connectivity between India and China in a modest way, Smt. Soni said but this does not cater to the full potential of our tourism.



We should both aim at having at least 50 direct flights a week in the coming years between our two countries connecting different cities.



Smt. Soni said the ‘Action Plan’ which has been drawn out through mutual consultations, has several interesting activities to be undertaken this year. There will be several familiarization trips for tour operators and media to showcase the tourist attractions of the two countries.



The minister stressed, We should also make it possible that both India and China open their tourist offices this year in order to undertake promotion and marketing of their tourism destinations more aggressively in each other’s country.



The Foreign Minister of China Mr. Li Zhaoxing said both China and India enjoy splendid culture and rich tourism resources, and there is a sound basis and great potential for enhancing our cooperation in tourism and cultural fields. He said last year 450,000 Chinese and Indians exchanged visits. This, however, is still a small number compared with their total population of 2.4 billion. He said the two sides need to redouble efforts to increase the exchanges. Mr. Zhaoxing said the launching of Year of China-India Friendship through tourism is an important decision by the leaders of our two countries. It is a key component of the ten-pronged strategy aimed at enhancing China-India strategic and cooperative partnership.



The External Affairs Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee in his speech said with the rise in living standards, both India and China have become impressive sources for outbound tourist traffic. He said it should be the endeavour of both the governments to encourage their citizens to visit each other’s country.



Increased tourist traffic between the two countries will help up rediscover our shared cultural heritage and bring to the fore the instinctive warmth and friendship the people of India and China feel for each other.



To mark the launch of ‘India- China Year of Friendship Through Tourism’, a joint logo was unveiled to mark and publicize 2007 as India –China Year of Friendship Through Tourism, a monthly Action Plan till January 2008 for ‘India China Year of Friendship Through Tourism’ was also released. Chinese version of Incredible India website’ and a set of India’s tourism literature in Chinese language was also released on the occasion.



India Tourism views China as an important market for its inbound tourism. To tap China’s outbound market, India is aggressively promoting India in China. In 2005, India received 46, 805 tourists from China while 6,29,947 Indian tourists traveled to China during the same year.



Buddhism continues to be huge draw. Besides the above, yoga, and Bollywood are other major attractions. India Tourism has already taken initiatives to showcase India’s Buddhist attractions in China by launching advertising campaign termed ‘Walk with Buddha’.



India Tourism is further strengthening its promotion and marketing initiatives in the Chinese markets. As first steps, India’s tourism literature is being printed in Chinese language and launch of Chinese version of Incredible India website is being undertaken.



India Tourism and CNTA (China National Tourism Administration) are contemplating to open offices in Shanghai and New Delhi respectively to take forward these initiatives. Both countries will organize familiarization trips for tour operators, media and opinion makers to each others country to showcase tourist attractions in their country Participation in travel & tourism fairs, organizing of Road Shows, holding of Cultural and Food festivals will also be undertaken by India and China in each others country to provide a perspective on culture, traditions and culinary delights to the people of each others country.

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Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.

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