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The Ministry of Tourism will launch its Chalo India campaign on the sidelines of the ongoing World Travel Mart in London.
Chalo India is a first-of-its-kind initiative to bring more foreign tourists to India, wherein the government will allow “friends” of diaspora members to get free visas. Five foreign nationals nominated by each Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholder on a special portal will be eligible for a gratis e-visa (visa granted without fees).
There are about five million OCI card holders, as per government records. While each OCI holder can nominate up to five people, the total number of free e-visas to be granted under the said initiative is one lakh, officials said.
As the special portal goes live, the OCI cardholders will need to register on the same and key in the details of their nominated friends; they will be assigned a unique code after due verification. The designated friends can then use the special code to avail of a free visa.
The UK is the third largest source market for inbound tourists to India. At almost 1.9 million, it also has one of the biggest Indian diaspora.
The Ministry of Tourism is participating at WTM London, being held from November 5 to 7, with a delegation of 50 stakeholders including state governments, inbound tour operators, airlines and hoteliers to showcase India’s vibrant cultural diversity and the vast range of tourism products and immersive experiences, said a statement on Tuesday.
The foreign tourist footfall to India has been severely hit in the wake of the pandemic and numbers haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels. Around 6.19 million and 1.52 million foreign tourists arrived in India in 2022 and 2021 respectively, compared to 10.93 million in 2019.
The focus of this year`s India pavilion is MICE, Mahakhumbh and wedding tourism, said the statement. A special mock Mandapam in the Pavilion has been created to give the look and feel of an Indian wedding. The India pavilion was inaugurated by High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami and Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Mugdha Sinha, in the presence of Tourism Ministers of Telangana, Goa and Uttarakhand.
A total of 9.5 million foreign tourists visited India during 2023 out of which 0.92 million visits were from the UK, making it the third largest source market for inbound tourists to India, as per statistics by the Tourism Ministry.
Officials with the Tourism Ministry said the campaign is a formalisation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invite to NRIs and overseas Indians to bring their friends and associates to visit India and contribute to building brand India as a tourism destination.
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