International inbound tourism in India will reach pre-Covid levels in this calendar year: Arvind Singh – ET TravelWorld

Tourism secretary, Arvind Singh

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Tourism secretary, Arvind Singh

Validating the expectations of the Indian travel and tourism industry, Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has anticipated that international inbound tourism in India will fully rebound and reach the pre-Covid levels of 2019 in this calendar year. He said that inbound tourism to India is currently recovered 65-70 per cent and numbers will definitely rise in the season to come.

Talking about the projection at an event in Delhi last week, Singh also said that domestic tourism is doing exceptionally well with Indians travelling across the country in large numbers.

Sharing his thoughts on the revival tourism in the country at ICONIC 2023, the Tourism Secretary also said that various trade events and travel mart coinciding with G20 meetings taking place across various destinations will give India an opportunity to showcase its tourism potential and calibre to host events matching international standards.

“If we compare the figures, we have seen in 2022 calendar year those of 2019, India has seen tremendous growth as far as domestic tourism is concerned. People have really come up in large numbers to travel. At certain destinations where good infrastructure has been created, we saw exceptional growth and boost in footballs. Let’s take Varanasi for example, if you compare the number of domestic tourists in 2019 with the figure in 2022, there has been a 10x rise from 70-80 lakh in 2019 to almost seven crores last year. That just shows the impact of growing tourism around the country,” explained the Tourism Secretary.

Mentioning about the heavy rebound in domestic tourism in the country, Singh said that travellers are travelling across the length and breadth of the country, even to hitherto unknown destinations.

MICE industry to drive Indian tourism sector in 2023

Talking about the role of India’s MICE tourism sector, Himanshu Talwar underscored that MICE tourism has become a leading economic sector by contributing 9.8 per cent of global GDP and represents 7 per cent of the world’s total exports. He further shared that MICE is growing at a rate of nearly 20 per cent per year, and with inflow of investments from leading tourism agencies in coordination with Indian companies and global brands, Indian is poised to grow and shine as a leading MICE destination the coming years.

Talking about the Visit India Year 2023, Singh stated that the Ministry is planning various events across the country in the coming months including the Global Tourism Investors meet in New Delhi from May 17-19. He expects sizable participation from domestic and international investors and boost to the tourism economy in the country.

“In the last 20 years, we have got about USD 16 billion of investment in the tourism and hospitality sector and now given our ambitions and the size and scale of our efforts, there is a huge opportunity to surpass that number,” he said.

He added, “We are doing a series of events coinciding with the G20 presidency. This has given us a unique opportunity to showcase India. For the first time in the country, 55+ are going to host meetings of the international levels for G-20 delegates. This itself sends a message that this country is ready to host such high-quality events at any number of destinations across the length of the breadth of the country.”

In June 2023, the WTTC will host a ‘CEOs Forum’ in Goa side by side the G20 ministerial meeting scheduled to take place in the coastal state. This will bring close to 100 global CEOs to meet the G20 ministers. Two other major travel events are also planned later this year with IATO hosting its 38th annual convention in Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad) in September and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is going to host PATA Travel Mart 2023 in Delhi from October 4-6. “Both these events will bring in industry practitioners and tour operators from both inbound and outbound for healthy interactions, which will definitely help fuel more inbound travel into India in the future. This will also help drive more investment in the tourism industry,” said Singh.

The Tourism Secretary was the Guest of Honour at the ICONIC 2023 event which took place in Delhi on March 23. ICONIC 2023 organised by RedHat Communications is an initiative that brings together the worlds of luxury, travel, and hospitality and beyond. It is both a forum for discussion as well as a stage to recognise the stalwarts of the huge value chain from the tourism industries.

Indian tourism to leverage global opportunities and deliver highest ROI: KB Kachru

Speaking at the roundtable organised in the run up to the Global Tourism Investor’s Summit later in May, Kachru, who is also Member of CII’s National Committee on Tourism, asserted that the upcoming G20Summit will support the region in advancement of its economic goals with some of the most powerful countries in the world other than aiding the manifestation of the true spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ or the ‘World is One Family.’

  • Published On Apr 1, 2023 at 08:04 PM IST

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