As India opens its borders post-pandemic, the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has been organising a series of virtual roadshows in collaboration with Indian Missions abroad to reconnect with and welcome back partners in the international travel and tourism industry. As much as it is aimed to be an update on Indian tourism, it is also an initiative to rediscover old ties and explore new opportunities for the future.
India’s diverse and unique tourism products were at display on 26th July, 2022 with the Italy edition of the Incredible India Reconnect 2022 virtual roadshow. The Incredible India Reconnect 2022 Virtual Roadshow began with opening remarks from Dr. Neena Malhotra, Ambassador of India to Italy.
She highlighted the importance of efforts such as this in reigniting the tourism and travel interest between Indian and Italy – given the rich commonalities between history, culture, and civilization. She spoke at length about how Italy and India are fertile grounds for film and cultural tourism to thrive.
Highlighting the importance of the diaspora, . G Kamala Vardhana Rao, Director General (Tourism), mentioned the need for enabling members of the Indian diaspora to talk about the diverse tourism offerings of India in their daily places of work and interaction.
He also mentioned how India was a tourist destination that offered the most economical and the most luxurious of tourist offerings at each of the 165-170 declared tourist destinations in India. Dilating on the fact, he mentioned how India was among the only countries in the world having a dedicated Ministry and action plan towards traditional knowledge systems.
Mr. Antonio Barreca, Director General, Federation of Tourism Industry highlighted that Italian tourists have traditionally been very enthusiastic about Indian culture, the outdoors, the cities, and the general vibrancy and diversity of India. He mentioned about how Italy and India can together compete on quality and excellence, while offering each other technical knowhow allowing opportunities for knowledge transfer.
