Ambika Soni inaugurates India Tourism office in Beijing

Union tourism and culture minister Ambika Soni has said that the stakeholders in the tourism sector must explore the possibilities of making tourism innovative and affordable. She was addressing a gathering in Beijing today after inaugurating the India Tourism Office.

Earlier in August 2007, the government of China had set up a China National Tourist Office in New Delhi .

Soni said the India Tourism Office in Beijing has been set up as per agreed plan of action for India-China Friendship Year Celebrations during 2007. She said the office would further increase people to people contact between the two countries and strengthen bilateral relations between India and China further.

The minister asked tour operators and local travel agents and airlines representatives to increase the volume of traffic from China to India as India has several tourism products to offer to them such as special trains to Buddhist sites, new luxury trains and some exciting lesser-known tourist destinations.

The Indian Ambassador in China, Nirupma Rao, and Arun Anand, vice president, Indian Association of Tour Operators, also spoke on the occasion.

Ambika Soni also inaugurated a photo-exhibition by Rita Zhao, the Chinese photographer who visited India during the ''friendship through tourism year''.

To mark the opening of the office, the ministry of tourism  planned an Incredible India evening showcasing the best of Indian culture and cuisine, with Shao Qiwei, chairman, China National Tourism Authority, as the chief guest.

India Tourism Office in Beijing is the 14th Overseas Office of India Tourism Department and is  being headed by acting director R S Meena.

The ministry of tourism is also supporting the inauguration event with a branding exercise by advertisements in the outdoor media.

The opening of India Tourism Office in Beijing will be a landmark event for the Ministry of Tourism in its initiatives to promote travel from China to India.