Govt readies scheme to attract foreign tourists

NEW DELHI: Now the farther you come from, the more incredible will India be. Alarmed by the dip in foreign tourist arrivals, the Centre, in tandem with the tourism industry, is putting together a package where the sops offered would be proportionate to the distance of the traveller���s point of departure from India. In short, a Brazilian or a Canadian tourist will stand to avail more than, say, a traveller from Malaysia or Russia.

The scheme will be operational by 2010, and its contours will be clear in a day or two, the minister for tourism and culture Ambika Soni said. On Monday, apex bodies of the travel, tour and hospitality industry offered to sponsor at least 1,000 foreign tourism industry representatives to a trip to India for discussions.

The suggestion came in the wake of recent travel advisories issued by various countries urging tourists to avoid India following the recent Mumbai terror attack. Foreign tourist arrivals in the country fell 2.1% in November 2008 to 5.21 lakh. Foreign exchange earnings also dipped 12.5% to Rs 1 billion during this period.

As per preliminary discussion with trade representatives, foreign tourists availing this scheme would be offered trips to new rural and spiritual sites.

The tourism ministry has identified over 130 rural sites across the country and is in the process of developing them into model villages showcasing India���s diverse culture and heritage.

Recently, under the market development assistance scheme, the ministry had increased financial support to tour operators for promoting India in international exhibitions. It doubled the upper ceiling of foreign exchange earnings of applicant companies for eligibility under the scheme to Rs 20 crore to involve more operators.