Parvez Dewan, Secretary of India's Ministry of Tourism, speaks at a press conference at Jeddah Hilton on Sunday. Faiz Ahmad Kidwai, the Consul General of India, and Vikas Rustagi, Regional Director of India Tourism, are also seen. — SG photo Hassan Cheruppa Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – India, with its vast tourism potential, is looking toward Saudi Arabia to draw its huge number of affluent vacationers and tourists for all seasons of the year, said Parvez Dewan, Secretary of India's Ministry of Tourism. In an exclusive interview with Saudi Gazette, Dewan said India has made tremendous changes even in the very approach to tourism so as to attract more tourists from the Middle East, especially from Saudi Arabia. Dewan said his Ministry's tourism Campaign titled “Incredible India” is going to wear an Arab garb. “Our regional website is already in Arabic and our national website will also be in Arabic before March 31, 2014. We are now in the process of choosing the firm which will implement the project. God willing, by 31st March we should have a toll-free telephone information line in Arabic, which will be 24 hours a week,” he said while noting that all these are for the Arab citizens who want to go to India for vacationing and other purposes. Dewan said: “Our literatures are already in Arabic and would continue to be more in Arabic. We will make our self-phone applications in Arabic.” “God has given Saudi Arabia everything and the Saudi society is very affluent. You cannot compare it even with very rich Western countries in many respects. We are not going to target Saudi backpackers but instead affluent Saudis,” Dewan said. Parvez Dewan, Secretary of India's Ministry of Tourism, said that the number of Saudi tourists visiting India last year was around 26,000, a growth of over 12 percent compared to the previous year. “Our aim and target is to take this annual figure of tourists to 100,000 within three years. There has been an increase of 38 percent in the number of tourists during the period between 2009 and 2010,” he said during a press conference to kick off the India Tourism Road Show 2013, held at Jeddah Hilton Sunday evening. The total number of tourists visiting India last year was around 6.65 million and this figure was an increase of 5.5 percent compared to the previous year, he said, adding 285,000 people from the Gulf states visited India and this was a rise of 38 percent compared to 2011. Delhi tops among the most favored tourism destinations and it is followed by Agra and Jaipur. Kerala is one among the top five. On arrival visa services are now available at five airports —Hyderabad, Bangalore, Goa, Trivandrum and Cochin. The India Tourism Road Show 2013 was a unique opportunity for those in the Saudi travel and tourism sector to have a close look at India's vast range of tourist destinations and products. India's magnificent tourist attractions, exquisite natural scenes, wide variety of cuisine, luxury tourism services, and traditional systems of medicines were all unveiled in front of the audience that included senior tourism officials from India and Saudi Arabia, destination managers, tour operators, hoteliers, airlines officials and the media personnel. The 47-member Indian delegation was led by Dewan, Secretary of India's Ministry of Tourism, and included Jammu & Kashmir's Minister for Tourism Ghulam Ahmad Mir and Minister of State for Tourism Sajjad Ahmed Kichloo. The function was also addressed by Indian Consul General Faiz Ahmad Kidwai. Muhammad Ayish Rifai, vice chairman of tourism committee at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was among the dignitaries who were present on the occasion. Vikas Rustagi, Regional Director of India Tourism, welcomed the gathering. The show, which is being jointly organized by the Indian Embassy in Riyadh and India Tourism Office, will also be held in Riyadh on Tuesday and Dammam on Wednesday. In his presentation, Dewan welcomed Saudi tourists to India during all seasons of the year. “You can come to India in any month of the year. In summer, you can come to my state Jammu & Kashmir and other six Himalayan states, including Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In winter you can go to Kerala, Lakshadeep, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Let Saudis inform us which month they want to come and we can suggest the best place to go,” he said. He gave an extensive presentation on major tourism destinations in India. They included Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikri in Agra, Juma Masjid of Delhi, which is one among the 10 largest mosques in the world, Humayun Tomb, Red Fort, and Qutab Minar in Delhi, Charminar of Hyderabad, Munnar hill resorts and backwaters of Kerala, Palaces of Rajastan and Mysore, and Dal Lake and Asia's only Tulip garden in Kashmir. “We have four major beaches with white sand on the east coast and five famous beaches for snorkeling in the west and a lot of wildlife sanctuaries and gardens. If you are muscular and if you want adventures including mountaineering like the Saudi girl Raha Moharrak who scaled Mount Everest, please come to India. “If you don't want mountains, then come to watch the beauty of monsoon on southwestern beaches. We have many luxury trains, palatial suites, including the Palace of Nizam, who was once the richest man in the world, and precious diamonds and jewels.” Ghulam Ahmad Mir invited Saudis to Kashmir to enjoy its beautiful lakes, snorkeling, mountaineering and safari. “I come from the ‘paradise' on earth to the spiritual paradise of all Muslims,” he said. Addressing the gathering, Kidwai said that Jeddah hosts the second tourism road show at a time when there's a huge increase in the number of Saudis who prefer vacationing in India. Summing up suggestions from local tour operators, he called for expanding the scope of visa on arrival facility. “This would increase the number of tourists tremendously. In first three months of 2013, a total of 5,744 visas have been issued against over 3,900 during the same period last year, registering a 47 percent increase. China gives arrival visas to 45 countries while Indonesia is giving to 62 countries, and therefore, I strongly request the government of India to take adequate steps in this regard.” Kidwai also noted that Saudi students are showing increasing interests to join courses in India, especially in IT and management courses. “We can draw large number of students to India if we have a specific approach in this respect.” The consul general pointed out that Saudis are frequent travelers and spend heavily on shopping while on vacation. Saudis who visited India earlier felt that India is the best place for luxury tourism. “So we can attract Saudis who are now mostly going to Dubai, Malaysia and other places.” Kidwai stressed that medical tourism can be promoted in a big way in the Kingdom. As per the Gallup Survey in August 2010, the majority of GCC nationals prefer treatment abroad, of which the figure of Saudis was 35 percent. As per the report, six GCC states spend more than $12 billion on medical tourism. They prefer mainly the US, UK, Germany, Egypt and Thailand. There are over 160 hospitals and medical centers that have excellent facilities for any kind of treatment and medical procedures in India. Saudis are no stranger to Indian doctors and paramedical staff since they have been in the Saudi health sector for over 40 years. The cost of Indian medical expense is cheaper while compared to the West and these hospitals serve halal foods and even Arabic translators to help them, he noted. Pranav Ganesh, Consul Passports, briefed all on the visa procedures for Saudis. “Most of the visas being issued for Saudis are within two days and they can submit visa applications through online,” he said. Dewan also said that India has the biggest number of English speaking people in the world, and their figure is much higher than that of US, Canada and UK. “Today more foreigners come to India to learn English, which is very inexpensive. We always welcome Saudi students because they pay well and are also well-disciplined. There are about 5,000 Saudi students now in India.” “India has all types of shopping facilities. It is the biggest center of polishing diamonds and the world's biggest importer of gold,” he added.
