India Tourism Office will be maintaining its long-term Incredible India! tourism campaign which is evolving to focus on wellness, luxury, cuisine and wildlife tourism.
This will take place under the slogan "Find the Incredible You", as well as the Incredible India 2.0 campaign, which has been running since 2017 and focuses on social and digital media.
Speaking at a press conference at WTM, the Indian high commissioner to the UK, Ruchi Ghanashyam said: "every place in India offers a different beauty". She said that all year round, there are different reasons to visit, adding that some visitors even like to come during the monsoon season because it is a unique experience.
To further encourage visitors to India, the government has introduced an e-visa for citizens of 169 countries, with a 30-day tourist visa in peak season costing $25. In the off-season, the same visa is $10. In September, the government reduced VAT on hotels, with VAT on luxury hotels dropping from 28% to 18% and on budget hotels from 18% to 12%, which is aimed at bringing down the overall cost to consumers of holidays.
Addressing infrastructure issues was cited at the Incredible India! press conference with government investment in improved road and air connectivity highlighted. In terms of getting to India, Air India's new routes from London Stansted and Birmingham airports were mentioned.
As well as wellness, luxury, culinary and wildlife tourism, niche sectors which the tourism office is keen to promote include rural, adventure, golf, MICE, medical and cruise tourism.
