NEW DELHI: The fourth Joint Working Group Meeting on Tourism Cooperation between India and Japan held on Tuesday in the Capital saw the exchange of valuable inputs and discussions on new investment opportunities to strengthen cooperation in the tourism sector between the two nations.
The meeting was co-chaired by Director General of Ministry of Tourism Mugdha Sinha and Commissioner of Japan Tourism Agency Haraikawa Naoya. Officials and private stakeholders from both countries were in attendance.
Delegations from both sides discussed the expansion of bilateral tourism through special initiatives aimed at the promotion of Buddhist sites in India, improvement of air connectivity and a rise in Japanese student visits. The officials also explored possibilities of increased private sector involvement and strategies to harness media and influencer engagements for boosting the flow of tourists.
The collaborative spirit and commitment demonstrated by both sides during the meeting is expected to develop a more vibrant tourism ecosystem, contributing significantly to the economic and cultural exchange between India and Japan, officials said.
The co-chairs of the two countries exchanged notes on the profile of the visitors and delved into the data insights of the tourists travelling between the two countries, including to Buddhist destinations, in order to undertake suitable policy interventions to make the destinations more attractive for the millennial tourists.
The meeting comes a month after a meeting chaired by Ministry of Tourism Secretary V Vidyavathi with the key travel associations on streamlining e-visa facilities, visa-fee waivers and air connectivity with ASEAN countries in which promotion of Buddhist pilgrimage tourism was discussed.