Mohammed Alshoaiby Saudi Gazette RIYADH — The Indian Embassy in Riyadh and the Indian Tourism Office hosted the second leg of the India Tourism Road Show 2013 in the capital on Tuesday, in hopes to attract Saudi tourists to experience India's luxury destinations. The event, a part of a roadshow including Jeddah and Dammam, focused on the various tourism destinations that span across the South Asian nation and aimed at drawing in “high income” Saudi tourists. "Saudi Arabia is a part of our extended neighborhood,” Hamid Ali Rao, Ambassador of India said at the event. "We have a lot of common factors: we have historical and civilizational links, we've known each other for several thousands of years and our trade relations can be traced back centuries." Rao expressed his concern for the relatively low numbers of Saudi tourists to India in recent years, exclaiming that the proximity and common factors shared by the two nations allows for greater tourism potential. “India is a natural bouquet, where each and every region has its own colors, fragrance and beauty to mesmerize,” he added. Rao reminded guests that India is host to the Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world, along with 28 other UNESCO certified world heritage sites that have existed throughout many civilizations. “Ancient Indians say: the guest is like a God, summarizing our sense of respect for visitors and tourists,” Rao concluded. On his visit to the Kingdom, Parvez Dewan, Secretary of Tourism, said: “It is a great honor to be in this holy land,” reading the lines in Arabic preceding roaring applause from the audience; “this is the land of the two holy mosques,” he continued in the Kingdom's mother tongue. "Saudi Arabia has many unique things, including high per-capita income and a strong family structure,” he continued, reverting back to English. Dewan highlighted India's top tourism destinations and luxury hotels in an expansive and conclusive presentation that featured the Taj Mahal and Jama Masjid — one of the largest mosques in the world. The event, organized under the brand “Incredible India,” focused on potential Saudi tourists with high income, interested in family-oriented leisure destinations. In 2011, 26,000 Saudis visited India, registering a growth of 12 percent over 2010, Dewan said, welcoming Counselor Dharmendra Bhargava of the Indian Embassy to the podium to highlight the country's latest visa reforms. Bhargava said the Indian Embassy had outsourced its visa services since February 2009, allowing Saudis to apply to visas at offices beyond the embassy's boundaries in Riyadh, Dammam, Jubail, Hail, Buraidah among several other cities. "This is to reach out to everybody, even in remote locations; they don't have to come to Riyadh to apply for a visa,” he commented. Bhargava illustrated the various types of tourism visas India offers, ranging from a three-month, single-entry visa priced at SR155 to a five-year, multiple-entry visa at SR490. Following the presentations, Minister of Tourism Ghulam Ahmed Mir took the podium to welcome guests and thank those in attendance. "The moment I landed in this country, positive vibes from your country made me feel at home,” he said. "These vibrations look so similar to my motherland, Kashmir, which is popularly known as paradise on Earth. "One thing that I found similar between Saudi Arabia and Kashmir is the hospitality and warmth of the people." India is home to one of the world's largest Muslim populations, including Kashmir, dating back to civilizations that precede the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's unison by centuries. Indian culture is among the most diverse in the world, being the birthplace of four of the world's major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism, along with social structures that are deeply rooted in the value systems of these religions along with Islam and Christianity. Almost 14 percent of India's 1.24 billion citizens are Muslims, with a ten-year growth rate of 36 percent. Tourism in India generated $121 billion according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) making up almost 7 percent of the country's GDP and creating almost 40 million jobs in 2011. India entices many tourists throughout the year, ranging from backpackers and students that make use of the low cost of travel and expenses, to high-income tourists seeking a luxury, five-star experience.
