Closer Indo-China tourism ties mooted

The speakers at the three-day international tourism seminar, which began in Hyderabad on Tuesday called for a closer co-operation between India and China to tap the tourism potential in both the countries.

While terming the tourism sector as an important tool to eradicate poverty and unemployment in the days to come, the speakers also stressed the need to involve the locals as the stake-holders in this endeavour.

N Chandrababu Naidu, the caretaker chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, formally inaugurated the seminar being organised by the Confederation Of Indian Industry on 'India tourism and Heritage-Challenge 21.'

CII is organising the seminar in partnership with Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Andhra Pradesh Tourism and the China National Tourism Administration.

Mentioning that the Vision-2020 targets on tourism development in the state, Naidu said that the state would follow the Chinese model, which had made quick advances in the tourism sector, apart from other major achievements in the economic and human development areas after it introduced the reforms.

"By 2040, India, China and the US will emerge as the top three economies while utilising the tourism potential," he said.

Acknowledging the initiative taken up by the CII in the tourism sector, Naidu said that there was a healthy competition among the states in attracting the foreign as well as the domestic tourists, and asked the competing states to join hands for developing the common circuits.

Addressing the inaugural session, Gu Zhaoxi, the vice-chairman of China National Tourism Administration, said that between 1996 and 2002, the total tourism revenue of China had grown at an average annual rate of 12 per cent, a one-and- half -a-per cent faster than that of the country's GDP.

"China government gives utmost importance to the tourism sector in view of its revenue potential. China's tourism revenue totals $ 66.6 billion, accounting for 5.00 per cent of the Chinese GDP, with a total of 98 million inbound tourists," Zhaoxi said.

He also informed that the number of Chinese nationals travelling abroad had also increased by 36 per cent. Rathi Vinay Jha, the secretary, ministry of tourism, who delivered the key-note address at the inaugural session, gave a comprehensive view of the growing tourism industry by pondering over the future challenges and also the direction that has to be followed in developing the sector.