India and Australia have jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tourism cooperation, development and promotion. The event was held on the 11th of February 2022 in New Delhi. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal and Australian Minister of Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan Wannon.
According to the statement released by the Ministry of Tourism, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aims to encourage the diversification of bilateral relations between the two nations in the area of tourism, as well as to enhance the cooperation between the two. The agreement also facilitates the exchange of information and data related to tourism, cooperation between the tourism stakeholders – especially the hotels and tour operators. Post the Covid-19 pandemic, the Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries will act as the much-needed stimulant the tourism industry needs.
Other than that, the Memorandum of Understanding also addresses the cooperation and exchanges between training and education providers in the tourism and hospitality industry, investment in the tourism and hospitality sectors, the visit of tour operators, wholesalers, media and opinion-makers. Moreover, the Memorandum of Understanding also advocates for high quality, safe, ethical and sustainable tourism development, interest in major cultural, artistic and sporting events, opportunities for educating the travelers on applicable laws, rules and instructions in each other’s country, as well as for enhanced tourism engagement in multilateral fora.
For India, reportedly Australia is one of the most important markets for tourism generation. As per the released statement, Australia ranked fourth in terms of Foreign Tourist Arrivals to India in 2019 and it contributed a total of 3.4 per cent in tourism revenue from foreign tourists in the country. The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with Australia will prove to be a catalyst in increasing tourists’ arrival from this important source market.
Previously too, on the 18th of November 2014, India and Australia had signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of tourism for tourism cooperation. But the said Memorandum of Understanding had expired in 2019.
The Memorandum of Understanding facilitated the promotion of tourist traffic between the two countries. The number of the Australians that visited India has increased consistently in the past few years. While in 2016, around 3 lakh Australian tourists visited India, the number increased to 3.7 lakh in 2019. Similarly, the Number of Indians who visited Australia also increased consistently from 2.6 lakh in 2016 to 5.9 lakh in 2019. From 27th November 2014 itself, India has been offering an Electronic Tourist Visa to the citizens of Australia, planning to visit India.
Later on, Union Minister Piyush Goyal Tweeted that he had comprehensive talks over lunch with his good friend and Australian Trade Minister @DanTehanWannon in New Delhi and included photos in the post. He further added that they had an engaging discussion on possible ways to further deepen the India-Australia economic and trade ties.
At present, the Indian Ministry of Tourism has MoUs with a total of forty-five countries. By 2028, International tourist arrivals are expected to reach 30.5 billion, while generating revenue over US$ 59 billion. India was globally the third largest in terms of investment in travel and tourism with an inflow of US$ 45.7 billion in 2018, which accounted for a total of 5.9 per cent of the total investment in the country. The Ministry of Tourism sanctioned 18 projects that will cover all the North Eastern States for Rs 1,456 crore for the development and promotion of tourism in the region under the “Swadesh Darshan” and “PRASHAD Schemes”.
