The Indian government recognises the country’s potential in the tourism industry and has made a number of efforts to transform India into a global tourism hub, according to the ministry.

During its visit to WTM 2022, the Indian team will display the country’s diverse tourism offerings to tour operators, travel agents, and journalists from around the world.

According to the government, India will participate in the three-day World Travel Mart in London to promote itself as a favoured tourist destination. “The Future of Travel Starts Now” is the theme of this year’s exhibition.

“Ministry of Tourism, government of India will participate in World Travel Market (WTM) 2022 from 7th to 9th November in London which is one of the largest international travel exhibitions,” the ministry said in a statement. With the reopening of the country to foreign tourists after nearly two years, officials say India’s involvement this year is particularly noteworthy.

After the greatest immunisation campaign in the world, the country is ready to welcome international travellers. India is participating in WTM 2022 in order to promote itself as a premier tourist destination, said the ministry in a statement released on Saturday. The contribution of travel and tourism to India’s GDP in 2019 was 5.19 percent of the country’s total economy. In 2019, the tourism industry in India supported 79.86 million jobs (direct and indirect employment).

According to the report, the constant efforts of the federal and state governments have enabled the tourism industry recover from the COVID-19 pandemic shock and return to pre-pandemic levels.

“A total of 16 stakeholders, including from state governments, other central ministries, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as the industry partner, DMCs, tour operators, hoteliers, travel agents, online travel agents, facilitators of medical value travel are participating as co-exhibitors in the India Pavilion,” the ministry said.

Officials stated that the purpose is to display the different tourism products and services, including medical value travel and luxury trains, to the global business community.

This year, the Indian delegation will be led by Arvind Singh, the Union Tourism Secretary, along with Rakesh Verma, the additional secretary, and other senior officials from the ministry, in addition to representatives from Indian travel and tourism stakeholders, according to the statement.