Incredible India Website Launched In Arabic, Chinese And Spanish To Boost Tourism From These Countries

Aiming at showcasing India as a popular tourist destination worldwide, the Incredible India website has been launched in Arabic, Chinese and Spanish to attract visitors from these countries.

Speaking at the launch of the website, Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said the aim of the multi-lingual website is to showcase various tourism products of India on a global platform and increase tourism awareness, attractions and opportunities by providing tourists with personalised and contextual digital experiences.

"Today Incredible India website and mobile app were being launched in Chinese, Arabic and Spanish languages with the main objective of effectively connecting with visitors in countries where these languages are predominant, through web and social media platforms; and thus establish better contact with them," he said.

Patel said keeping in mind the tourists flow from Sri Lanka to Sanchi, we have introduced the Sinhala language at signage at Sanchi.

French, Russian and Chinese languages are also expected to be used at certain tourist spots where many visitors from these places come. Patel said wherever more than one lakh visitors from a particular country visit the language of that country would be used in signage.

In 2019, India witnessed the arrival of more than 10.9 million foreign tourists, of which about 6 lakh people spoke Chinese, around 2 lakh spoke Arabic, and 1.25 lakh spoke Spanish.

Not just the language addition but the website has also been revamped to provide more information about India’s tourist destinations, attractions, experiences, and Indian values.

The upgraded website now hosts information on as many as 165 Destinations, more than 2700 pages, 28 states, and 9 UTs along with multiple attractions, which is expected to provide all the required information for travellers.

The objective of the Incredible Indian website is to project India as a ‘must-visit’ place for travellers all across. The 2.0 version of the website is upgraded to provide visitors with a relevant, personalised and contextual digital experience that will contain all the required information on the tourism spots of the country.

The 2021 year is expected to be declared as Visit India year.

2019 was an important year in which India leaped 18 places in the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitive Index and moved up from 65th to 34th rank.

Government has taken up many steps to strengthen India's place in the tourism world, such as the reduction in e-visa fee and further simplifying the e-visa system, expanding theme-based tourist circuit through Swadesh Darshan Scheme, holistic development of chosen religious destinations through Prasad Scheme and through central financial assistance to the state governments for tourism development.

The revamped website also has user-generated content from social media feeds, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, which will enable an opportunity to understand and meet the expectations of tourists. There is also a robust ecosystem for helpline support to meet the expectations of modern tourists through technical knowledge and continuous support through a specialised chat-bot service.

According to the Tourism Ministry, the Incredible India website and app will also be available in other major international languages. The website will be continuously developed with new designs and interesting themes regularly. Emphasis will also be placed on the promotion of technology in which smart device integration and artificial intelligence and major design upgrades will be the key points of focus.