The Embassy of India organized on Tuesday evening an event on India Tourism at the Grand Hyatt in the capital Amman, bringing together prominent members of the Jordan Society of Tourism and Travel Agents (JSTA), representatives from the Jordanian Businessman Association, the Business and Professional Women Association, the Jordan-India Friendship Society, and the media. In a speech, Suhail Halaseh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the JSTA thanked the embassy for organizing the event and showcasing India’s potential as a tourism destination, underlining the importance of operating a direct flight between India and Jordan which will enhance trade and tourism between the two countries. In his address, Anwar Haleem, Ambassador of India to Jordan remarked that tourism is an “extremely important ingredient” for the economic development and growth of any nation, noting that India’s earnings from tourism account for 5.8% of the Gross Domestic Product with hopes to raise it to 7.5% by 2030. As per World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Development Index 2021, India is currently ranked 54th in the world but tops the ranking within South Asia, and India’s Kerala backwaters were listed on National Geographic’s 50 destinations of a lifetime, he highlighted. He stated that India offers geographical diversity, world heritage sites and niche tourism products like cruises, adventure tourism, medical tourism, yoga tourism, wild-life and luxury tourism, adding that there is a growing interest in India’s rich cultural heritage and natural beauty among foreign tourists. The ambassador also pointed out that in the last decade or so, India has built extensive and comprehensive tourism infrastructure worth approximately $1 billion to improve tourists’ experience by funding the development of destinations, circuits, mega projects, as well as rural tourism infrastructure projects. Government initiatives such as the “Incredible India” campaign, setting up of tourism boards at national and state levels to promote tourism and attract investments, visa liberalization and e-visa facilities for foreign tourists bode well for India’s tourism to grow in the coming years, Haleem stated, highlighting the growth and potential of medical tourism in India and calling for the integration of Indian and Jordanian tourism for better results for both countries.
Source: Jordan News Agency