Tourists retreating from the beach in Goa
© AFP/File Pedro Ugarte

LONDON (AFP) - By boosting infrastructure outside of India's bustling cities, the country can maintain its strong growth as a tourist destination, he said at the World Travel Market, the global tourism industry's annual fair in London.

"We are very optimistic and we are rebranding our tourism," Banerjee told AFP.

The number of international tourists visiting India has nearly doubled in the last five years, rising from 2.73 million in 2003 to 5.07 million in 2007, according to official figures.

His ministry expects it to slow due to the credit crunch, but is nonetheless hopeful that its plans to diversify the tourist market can keep visitors coming to India in the long-haul.

"We are promoting what is called responsible tourism and this is a very innovative rural tourism project which positions India's rural way of life as a unique visitor experience," said the minister.

"We are going into wellness, cruise, rural, adventure and faith tourism and we are absolutely hopeful that we'll be able to overcome this problem and have a robust growth rate in tourism."

In its 2008 global report, the World Travel Market said countries and firms which embraced the consumer trend for sustainable, environmentally-responsible tourism would be best placed to survive the financial downturn.

Figures for the first nine months of 2008 show 3.87 million foreign arrivals in India, an increase of 10.4 percent on the same period last year.

Leena Nandan, a junior tourism minister from Delhi also at the ExCeL, said the global downturn was being taken seriously.

But she added: "While it would be reasonable to expect this growth may slow down, it is not likely to be completely stopped by the turbulence that is shaking the world economy.

"Overall, there is every reason for the Indian tourism industry to be optimistic."

©AFP