With a view to boost the foreign tourist arrivals in India, the central government along with the tourism department has planned to offer schemes to the foreign tourists. The apex body bodies of the travel, tour and hospitality industry offered to sponsor at least 1,000 foreign tourism industry representatives to a trip to India for discussions. Under the new scheme, the sops offered would be proportionate to the distance of the traveler's point of departure from India.

 

According to the minister for tourism and culture Ambika Soni, the new scheme will get kick started by 2010. After the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, various countries have asked its citizens to avoid touring to India owing to security factors. According to reports, foreign tourist arrivals in the country fell 2.1 percent in November 2008 to 5.21 lakh. As a result, foreign exchange earnings also dipped 12.5percent to Rs 1 billion.

 

Under the new scheme, the foreign tourists will be offered trips to new rural and spiritual sites. The tourism industry has started to develop about 130 newly identified rural sites for this purpose. The ministry has recently increased financial support to tour operators for promoting India in international exhibitions.