India vows to attract more Chinese tourists

India will set up soon a tourism office in Beijing in a bid to attract more Chinese visitors, according to a report by Indian paper Economic Times, which cited Indian Minister of Tourism K.J. Alphons.

“We should aim for 10 percent of the 144 million Chinese tourists. This can be achieved in five years if we make concerted efforts,” Alphons said.

Bilateral flows between China and India right now are small, and experts point out there is still work to do to increase visitors.

Chinese tourists to India reached 247,000 in 2017, a mere 2 percent of the total 10.18 million foreign tourists who visited India last year, according to figures of the Indian Ministry of Tourism.

Jiang Yiyi, director of international tourism development at the Beijing-based China Tourism Academy, noted that India's tourist industry still has some work to do to attract Chinese visitors.

“The urban infrastructure in India when moving around is not ideal,” she said.

Jiang noted that India also lacks food options that cater to Chinese tastes, as well as shopping opportunities for Chinese tourists.

But India has its strengths, especially in the luxury sector. A British traveler who lives in Shanghai said that “Chinese 5-star hotels are often large and impressive, but Indian high-end hotels give a better luxury experience, both in the environment and the service they provide,” she said. “Chinese service is rather cold in comparison.”

Government policies will also have to change to improve tourism flows. “Sri Lanka and Maldives have attracted large numbers of Chinese tourists after providing visa-on-arrival services, so if some agreement to ease tourist visas could be reached between China and India, visitors would surely increase,” said Jiang.