ID :
378474
Thu, 08/27/2015 - 10:38
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Effort To Promote ASEAN As A Single Tourist Destination In India

By M. Santhiran NEW DELHI, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- The ASEAN Promotional Chapter for Tourism (APCT), India Chapter, has stepped up efforts to promote ASEAN as a single and collective tourism destination to Indian tourists. APCT was conceived by the member countries of ASEAN as part of efforts to leverage the tremendous tourism potential of the region. Tourism Malaysia director in Mumbai and APCT (India Chapter) chairman, P. Manoharan in a statement said more than 200 members of the trade fraternity, media and high-level officials attended the meeting in Mumbai, Wednesday. "Southeast Asia has always been an attractive destination for Indians. In fact, India has consistently been one of the top 10 tourist-generating markets for this region. "Last year, we had over 102 million visitors to the ASEAN countries and over three million were from India," said Manoharan. He pointed out that historically, Indians had been visiting Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. "ASEAN has much to offer with the inherent diversity in terms of people, lifestyle, culture, religion and culinary experience, together with the rich natural landscape and deep historical heritage." He said last year, Myanmar saw a 50 per cent increase in tourist arrivals and India was a major contributor to it. "Places like Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos are also fast featuring on the Indian must-visit countries list. These are all positive signs for us at APCT," he added. Through the APCT, numerous initiatives are being taken to ensure that the tourists get the best during their holidays in the ASEAN region. Manoharan said special emphasis was being laid on enhancing product development through regional packages, increase in public awareness of ASEAN products and offerings, facilitation of intra-ASEAN travel and so on. In a related development, he said officials at the APCT, India Chapter, opined that the current need for multiple visas was hindering cross-border tourism in the region. They informed that a proposal for an ASEAN common visa for non-ASEAN nationals to facilitate business mobility and tourism was in discussion. -- BERNAMA

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