Niharika Shukla – New Delhi
A recent boost in tourism exchange and cooperation between China and India has led to an increase in Indian travellers visiting China. The tourism sector in China has seen continuous growth since past three years. The total visits from India to China, from January to July, 2013 were 399,400, an increase of 13.77 per cent over the same period of last year and the visits from mainland China to India were 85,000, an increase of about 11.3 per cent over the same period of last year.
Speaking on the tourism exchange between China and India, LI Qianguo, deputy director, China National Tourist Office said, “India is an important emerging source market for China. For the first half of this year, Indian arrivals to China increased by more than 10 per cent. It is very encouraging considering the current global travel trends (the international arrivals increased only about five per cent from January to July, 2013). China and India are more closely connected with each other through travel and tourism. CNTO, New Delhi will organise more promotional activities in India including travel fairs, seminars, FAM tours to further tap the Indian market. A new road show of China Tourism will be organised next year.
Further talking about his association with the travel agents in India, Qianguo added ,“The Indian travel agents mean a lot to us. For both group and individual tourists, the travel agents can give immense support. I have always kept myself associated with independent travel agents and the associations of Indian travel agents, such as IATO, TAAI. For the recently concluded road show of China Tourism in Bengaluru and New Delhi, TAAI-Karnataka, IATO (national), SFTO-India extended support to China Tourism.”
Some of the destinations being promoted by China include – Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. New destinations such as Xi’an, Guilin, Chengdu, Suzhou and Hangzhou are expected to attract more Indian tourists.
