India promotes its tourism hot spots in Gulf

In an effort to woo travellers from the Gulf, India has hosted an event here, highlighting its tourism hot spots, including the picturesque state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The 'Incredible India' show this week was hosted on the sidelines of an industry event here and was attended by Consul General to Dubai Sanjay Verma, Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Minister Ghulam Ahmad Mir and Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Girish Shankar.
Speaking on the occasion, Shankar said India believes in two-way tourism and enumerated steps that the government has taken to boost the sector as he highlighted the potential of India's 29 recognised world heritage sites.

Consul General Verma said across the United Arab Emirates a total of 80,000 Indian tourist visas were issued last year out of which 60,000 were issued to UAE nationals alone.
He also said that over one million Indians visited Dubai last year.
Inviting tourists to his state, Jammu and Kashmir Minister Ghulam Ahmad Mir said that "Kashmir is a microcosm of India where all faiths and all weathers are represented."

He said tourism was worst hit sector during the militancy. "Even agriculture and horticulture sectors managed to survive but tourism was badly hit," he said.
"It is important to showcase Jammu and Kashmir because it is also critical for national integration. Tourism is the biggest sector in the state," he said.

Verma also highlighted growing trade between the India and the UAE.
"Trade between India and the UAE touches USD 1.4 billion every week (including oil) and around USD 75 billion every year," Verma said, adding that Dubai has become the center of the Gulf region.