Government appoints tourism officers in 20 missions abroad

The government has appointed tourism officers in 20 Indian missions abroad to give a boost to the sector that was brought to its knees during the coronavirus pandemic. The job of these officials will be to promote India abroad and liaise with the tourism ministries of the respective countries to woo potential tourists.

Earlier this week, Union Minister for Culture and Tourism G Kishan Reddy thanked the Ministry of External Affairs for accepting his request and clearing the appointment of tourism officers in countries such as the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, France and Singapore.

"I would like to thank Hon'ble EAM Sri S Jaishankar for his speedy response to my letter requesting for dedicated Tourism Officers in 20 Missions abroad. We now have Tourism Officers identified in 20 Missions abroad, where we have large tourist footfalls," Reddy said in a tweet.


The Indian missions where the tourism officers have been appointed include Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Oman, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Netherlands, the UK and the US.

The appointment of these officials is a way to strengthen India's base in countries from which it receives a significant number of tourists.

In 2018, the Centre had shut down several of its overseas offices as a move to cut costs.

According to the website of the Ministry of Tourism, currently, it has overseas offices in Beijing, Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Singapore, London, New York and Dubai.