India Tourism Road Show in Seoul
To mark the 40th anniversary year of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Republic of Korea (ROK), India Tourism office in Tokyo organized a Tourism Road show in Seoul on Friday 22 February 2013, with the active support of the Embassy of India Seoul. The initiative saw an impressive turnout of Korean travel agents and journalists.
Secretary Tourism, Government of India Mr. Parvez Dewan made a detailed PowerPoint presentation highlighting the breathtaking cultural and geographical diversity of India, her Buddhist heritage (25% of Korean population is Buddhist) and tradition of hospitality. Ambassador Vishnu Prakash, explained the bilateral steps taken towards visa simplification and assured the industry that Korean nationals would continue to get hassle-free visas within 3 days in the ordinary course and the same day in case of urgency. Hon’ble Amrita Rawat, Minister of Tourism, Government of Uttarakhand spoke about the attractions of her state.
Secretary and Ambassador next addressed a press conference along with Additional Director General, Tourism Mrs. Usha Sharma. A B2B meeting was held in parallel for the Korean and Indian travel agents, which was quite productive.
South Korea has become one of the top 15 sources of foreign tourists for India for three years running, with double digit annual growth rates. During 2011 India received Korean 108,680 tourists as against 95,587 in 2010 representing a 13.7% increase. The trend is expected to strengthen in coming years, with the steady expansion of India ROK relations. Koreans are also travelling abroad in significant numbers. 14 million Koreans tourists are estimated to have gone overseas during 2012 (total population 50 million).
Seoul
23 February 2013
