India and Japan today agreed to sign a bilateral agreement in order to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the tourism sector.
A decision to this effect was taken in a meeting between the visiting Japanese Senior Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Hiroshi Kajiyama and Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi here.
"The two sides agreed to move further on signing an agreement to promote bilateral tourism relations," a senior Tourism Ministry official said here.
Chiranjeevi informed his Japanese counterpart about various measures being taken to improve golf and MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Conference, Exhibition) tourism in India, which may attract Japanese tourists and businessmen.
The minister also invited Japan to invest in the low budget hotel sector, where India has liberalised the FDI route.
Minister told his Japanese counterpart that the budget hotels hold a good potential as they attract tourists coming to India from various parts of the world.
Kajiyama said that the proposal for investments in the budget hotel sector could be a part of the agreement between the two countries.
The Japanese Tourism Minister said he would like to lead a delegation of businessmen from Japan in the next meeting, in which he hoped to conclude the agreement with India.
Kajiyama informed that two Japanese airlines are operating daily flights between India and Japan, which is an indication of the gravity of tourist traffic between countries.
Japan has set for itself a target of attracting 10 million visitors from across the world to Japan, and Japan Tourism is organising a two-day India-Japan Tourism Expo here from January 13 to 17 next year.
Kajiyama also sought Tourism Ministry's cooperation in organising the event.
