At a major FICCI event, it was clear that India-Indonesia should establish ‘RICH’- Religious, Cultural & History, theme-based tourism plan to strengthen the sector according to the Ambassador of Indonesia
HE Ms Ina H Krisnamurthi, Ambassador of Indonesia in New Delhi said that over the last few years, India and Indonesia have emerged among a few nations with robust economic growth. Stronger India-Indonesia-India relations in the coming future will be beneficial not only for both the countries but also to the region and the world, she added.
Addressing the ‘2nd FICCI Outbound Tourism Summit’, Ambassador Krisnamurthi said that both India and Indonesia have vast opportunities to explore beautiful destinations in various states, provinces, and cities. “There is a need to establish constant, continuous, sustainable direct air traffic between both nations. We must also look at establishing a niche market for exchange of visits between Indian tourists to Indonesia and vice-versa. India and Indonesia should work on establishing ‘RICH’ – Religious, Cultural and Social & History theme apart from other theme-based tourism plans including thematic tourism of Ramayana and Mahabharat, health, education, etc.,” she emphasized.
She further stated that it is through collaboration that we can overcome the challenges in the tourism sector. “A law of partnership between India-Indonesia will be the basis to build many building blocks of cooperation,” Krisnamurthi added.
Highlighting the tourism in Indonesia, she stated that Indonesia recorded 16 million tourist arrivals in 2019 while in 2022, around 4.2 million tourists arrived in Indonesia. Bali, she said has already become a dream destination for Indians, but Indonesia offers more apart from Bali. “We also strive to adapt to a broader spectrum of potential markets through the luxury segment. Several handpicked destinations are carefully prepared,” she emphasized.
Speaking on the policy interventions by the Indonesian government to attract more tourists from India, Krisnamurthi said that the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy continues to implement 3 strategies to increase and develop the tourism sector. “These include adaptation, innovation and collaboration through joint promotion and co-branding. We also have a relaxed visa regime including visa on arrivals, visa exemption and second home policy. For Indian tourists, visa on arrival and e-visa on arrival will a minimum fee of Rs 2,700 have eased the entrance into Indonesia,” she stated.
Ankush Nijhawan, Chairman, FICCI Outbound Tourism Committee & Co-Founder, TBO.com & MD, Nijhawan Group said that with the expansion in the Indian business, India is set to become the highest MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibition) tourism seller in the world by 2026. India also has the potential to become the cruise hub and the number of outbound tourists from India is growing each year.
FICCI-Nangia Andersen Knowledge Paper ‘Unlock the Potential: A Look into Outbound Tourism’, was released during the event.
Dipak Deva, Chairman, FICCI Tourism & Culture Committee & MD, SITA, TCI & Distant Frontier and Poonam Kaura, Partner- Government & Public Sector Advisory- Nangia Andersen LLP also shared their perspective on outbound tourism.
Key highlights of the knowledge paper: Indian Outbound Tourism to reach US$ 44,799 million by 2032 from US$ 15,163 million in 2022: FICCI-Nangia Andersen Report
Recommendations for growing the future of Outbound Tourism include:
- Lowering the rate of TCS (Tax Collected at Source)
- Enhancing opportunities of partnership with foreign countries
- Collaboration with airlines
- Experiential promotions, Joint marketing campaigns
- Allowing foreign cruise vessels to operate on Indian waters
- Strengthening Indian passport and streamlining visa processes
- Strengthening bilateral relations with tourist-friendly countries
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