India, Italy agree to enhance cooperation in tourism sector

New Delhi, Jan 30 (UNI) India today impressed upon Italy the urgency to finalise the dates of next round of Working Group meeting, to be held in Rome, for giving a fillip to bilateral tourism even as the two countries agreed on the need for better flight connectivity between them.

The issues related to tourism and culture came up for detailed discussions during a meeting Tourism and Culture Minister Ambik Soni had with Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli, who called on her in her office.

During their half an hour meeting, the two leaders observed that India and Italy shared similarities in their tourism products with both the countries being looked upon as cultural destinations and the scope for interaction is enormous.

''Both countries have ancient glorious civilisations, monuments, artefacts and rich legacy, and there is an imperative need to deepen mutual understanding and cooperation in the fields of tourism and culture,'' they said.

Ms Soni said Italy has much to offer to India in the areas of managing cultural heritage, including architectural restoration to tourists services and infrastructures.

She said the Tourism Cooperation Agreement between two countries was signed in June 2000 in Rome. As a follow up to the agreement, the first Working Group meeting was held in New Delhi on November 5 during that year.

The minister hoped that Italy would finalise soon the dates of next round of Working Group Meeting to further strengthen the cooperation between the two countries.

Italy is one of the top ten tourist generating markets for India with over 80,000 pluss tourists coming to India from Italy annually.

Both the leaders agreed for the need of better flight connectivity between the two countries, which had improved considerably over the past years with ALITALIA introducing more flights from Milan to Delhi.

During the meeting, visa problems being faced by Indian tourists, like delay in obtaining Italian visa, also figured.

The Italian Deputy Premier informed that the visa issue system was being streamlined in his country. He further informed that during the Rome Film Festival in October this year, India would be one of the focus countries.

He also invited Ms Soni to visit Italy.

UNI