NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Tourism will conduct roadshows across Canada and the US to promote India as a tourist destination this month. A high-level delegation from the ministry will be going to conduct the two roadshows at the end of June. The roadshows will be held in Washington DC, Boston, Vancouver, Seattle and San Francisco. Around 20 overseas roadshows are scheduled for this year, according to an official. Around 30 tour operators from the country, hoteliers, and state governments will participate in the overseas roadshows to be held in Canada and US. Till now, Jammu and Kashmir and the north-eastern states have shown their interest to get involved in the roadshows.
“We will receive the confirmation from the other states on Friday on their participation on the roadshows. The aim of the roadshows is to create awareness among tour operators abroad, enhance tourist arrivals from the countries hosting the shows and promote India as a tourist destination. The roadshows also give an opportunity for national tour operators to interact with international tour operators,” a tourism official said.
It will also help increase business across different tourist destinations, the official added. The ministry held roadshows in New Zealand and Australia in April.The next set of roadshows is planned in South Africa, Mauritius and a number of countries in Europe.
The roadshows include business meetings where Indian tour operators meet the tour operators of the respective overseas country, and presentations of new initiatives, destinations and products of India.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, Bangladesh, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, Germany and France are the top 10 countries from where India receives foreign tourists. The arrival of foreign tourists to all states has shown an increasing trend from 5.89 milion in 2000 to a provisional 26.89 million in 2017.
Himachal to host exhibition on folk art
The National Museum and the Home of Folk Art, Gurugram, will hold a joint exhibition on the ‘folk art’ tradition in Himachal Pradesh. Minister of State (Independent charge) of Culture Prahalad Singh Patel will inaugurate the exhibition ‘Unknown Masterpieces of Himachal Folk Art’ at the National Museum on Friday. More than 240 rare but timeless artefacts will be put on display at the
joint exhibition