Chennai: Despite media reports of an aggressive China making incursions into Indian territory, China appears to attract more Indians by the day.
The northeastern neighbour had registered an increase of 0.8 per cent in the arrival of Indian tourists from January to August this year. As part of an effort to strengthen the bilateral tourism exchange and cooperation with India, China is positioning itself as a prominent tourist destination.
The China National Tourist Office (CNTO) organised a roadshow to woo Indian toursits with the theme of ‘2014-Year of Smart Travel’ in Kolkata and New Delhi and the national capital region (NCR) recently.
Headed by Mdm. Zhang Xinhong, deputy director general of international department of China National Tourism Administration, a delegation from Chinese Tourism comprised officials and travel agents from Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Chongqing, Qinghai and Tibet.
According to Li Qianguo, director, China National Tourist Office, New Delhi, for the period of January to August 2014, tourist arrivals from India to China was 4.6 lakh, which was an increase of 0.8 per cent over the same period in 2013.
The roadshow and the event saw the travel trade fraternity enjoying Kung Fu show and sand animation besides cultural performances and public games. The national leaders of China and India have also decided to designate 2015 as the ‘Visit India Year’ in China and 2016 as ‘Visit China Year’ in India. According to sources, China is preferred by Indian businessmen, apart from students.
