Minister for Tourism Subodh Kant Sahai, in a speech at the World Travel Mart (WTM), set the new target for
inbound numbers. “Tourism to India is already on the rise. The number of visitors has increased by 10% between
January and October this year alone,” he said.
Sahai wants to ensure that by the end of 2016, 1% of all global tourists visit India.
He of course underlined the role of hotels in his plan saying that the country will need an additional 400,000
hotel rooms if this target is to be met and catered to.Sahai proposes to bridge the gap through a range of
Public Private Partnerships and has committed to offering massive opportunities to would be partners.
The Minister also announced plans to host India’s first ever Global Travel Mart. WTM chairman Graham Cooke
expressed the international community’s ethusiasm towards this initiative and said that niches such as eco,
wildlife, health and cruising would see India scale up its share of the global tourism landscape.
