NEW DELHI: India is revamping its tourism strategy in China, including plans to open a full-fledged regional tourist office headed by a top bureaucrat in China, as it targets a chunk of the 50 lakh Chinese tourists who travel globally every year.

At present, India’s hosts only 3.5 lakh of the 50 lakh Chinese globetrotters. Among the measures adopted by the government, the tourism ministry has installed signages in Mandarin across key sites including the Buddhist Circuit, which Chinese tourists frequent.

While the Chinese are top priority, the ministry also said it is planning to put up sign boards in Sinhala, Japanese and Korean at places like Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh and Bodh Gaya in Bihar, frequented by large numbers of tourists from Sri Lanka , Japan and South Korea .

In a separate effort to build connectivity and boost tourism, the Airports Authority of India is in the process of seeking environmental clearance from the ministry of environment, forest and climate change for three first-of-their-kind in the country, water aerodromes in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Reduction in e-visa fee, opening of Himalayan peaks for adventure tourists, besides setting up signages in foreign languages at ASI protected monuments are some of the initiatives the tourism ministry took to move closer to its target of attracting 20 million global tourists into India by 2020.

Tourism ministry said it has it opened up a whopping 137 Himalayan peaks, including the Kanchenjunga, to mountaineering expeditions and trekking, making it easier for foreigners to scale the peaks.

The government also said it introduced a new five-year e-tourist visa costing $80, and a one year etourist visa at $40 fee.

Tourism minister Prahlad Patel said the government is also promoting tourism to lesser known Indian destinations as alternatives for foreign tourists visiting India. Among the newer destinations on the list are destinations in J&K, Ladakh and Kargil .

