We Want as Many Chinese Tourists as Possible - Indian Tourism Minister

Tourism contributes a sizeable 10 percent to the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made all-round efforts to boost this sector and in his tenure, the e-visa policy, which was launched in November 2014 for 44 countries at nine airports, has now been extended to 166 countries at 26 airports and three seaports.

New Delhi (Sputnik): Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam, a bureaucrat-turned-politician who did his military-attached assignment at Nathu La (Chinese border) in 1981 as an Indian Administrative Services (IAS) probationer, is the Indian minister of tourism. Sputnik correspondent Rishikesh Kumar spoke to him about several issues, including the restricted entry of Pakistani and Chinese tourists, and the steps his government has taken to attract more foreign travellers to India.

Sputnik: The government is aggressively promoting India as an attractive tourist destination all over the world. You have conducted road shows in a country like China, which once was considered an adversary, with New Delhi being very sceptical of allowing Chinese in many parts of the country. Will you recount some of the steps you have taken to boost the country's tourism sector?

Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam: India has been welcoming tourists from all over the world. We have done extremely well. Last year our foreign tourist arrivals had gone up by 14%. We have made things so much easier for tourists. Individuals can apply for visas online. Applicants can now get visas within 24 hours. We have started a visa-on-arrival facility for Japan and South Korea.

The visa regime has become simple and we are in the process of making it simpler. We are working towards issuance of multiple entry visas for five years and ten years for tourists.  We also wish to implement lean period visa concessions, so that during lean periods we can waive off visa fees or offer some other tourism-related incentives.

READ MORE: Modi Reveals World's Tallest Statue as Tribute to the 'Iron Man of India'

Sputnik: Will you allow Chinese tourists to visit border states in the near future?

Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam: This is a decision which of course the Home Ministry has to take. They have eased restrictions on visiting north-eastern states, namely Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Manipur. So I am sure as time goes by, the Home Ministry will make a call on what exactly to do.

For now, we have eased restrictions on most of the states and that is great news for tourism.

Sputnik: A couple of years ago, Russia proposed the introduction of a visa-free regime for organized tourist groups. The Indian side has not yet responded to the proposal. What is the current status?

Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam: Visa on arrival facilities are there for Japan and South Korea. See, many of these things have to happen on a bilateral basis. If a country offers you a visa on arrival, we would be happy to give visa on arrival on a reciprocal basis. These are some of the things we have to consider before giving such facility to any country.

READ MORE: India to Launch Massive Publicity Campaign to Woo Chinese Tourists

Sputnik: It has been demanded for years that India should allow tourists to visit China through Sikkim (Nathu La) and invite Chinese tourists to visit Sikkim through the same route. Do you have any plans to do that?

Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam: This is again a call which the Home Ministry has to make through consultations with the Chinese government. As of now, we are allowing trips to Mansarovar through Sikkim's Nathu La. I think that's a wonderful step and things are being done in a well-coordinated way. We would like to see more traffic, because with more inflow and outflow of people, mutual understanding gets better and countries get closer.

Sputnik: Last November, India liberalized its visa regime for Bangladeshi tourists, who can now apply at Indian Visa Application Centres (IVAC) to secure unrestricted access to the Indian states of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in the east, and to Ladakh in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Will you consider extending such facilities to Pakistani and Chinese tourists as well?

Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam: These are political decisions we have to make. Tourism does not exist in isolation. It all depends on relationships we have with each country.

China has the biggest outbound tourist population in the world. I would be very happy to invite more Chinese tourists to the country. I have done two road shows in China. I would be extremely happy to have as many tourists from China as I can. The Indian prime minister has gone out of his way to ensure that we get lots of tourists from China.