China National Tourist Office (CNTO), New Delhi and Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), India jointly organised a business lunch at Le Meridien hotel, New Delhi on March 26, 2009, marking the beginning of the upcoming holiday season. His Excellency Zhang Yan, ambassador of China and Sujit Banerjee, secretary tourism, government of India, were the main guests at the function.

SanJeet, general manager, MGTO, gave a welcome speech which was followed by a lamp lighting ceremony by all the top dignitaries that included the Chinese ambassador, the tourism secretary, Alice Wang, director - CNTO, New Delhi.

Some eminent personalities present on the occasion were Shahram Saber, regional director – Asia, PATA; Kabir Vasudeva, executive director, PATA; Rajendera Kumar, honourary secretary, FHRAI, Subhash Goel, chairman – tourism committee, ASSOCHAM; PP Khanna, general secretary, ADTOI; Sanjay Kothari, ADG (T), government of India; and Dammu Ravi, private secretary, to the minister of tourism.

Moreover, all top travel companies such as Dewan Travels, Carnation Travel Services, Trail Blazer, HRG Sita, Swagatam Tours, Destination Direkt, Travelite (India), Dream Horizons, TUI and Mercury Travels, among others attended the event. Airlines representatives from Cathay Pacific and China Eastern were also present.   
CNTO and MGTO presentations were followed by a question and answer session, which was followed by a prize distribution ceremony for each respective office.

Addressing the gathering, ambassador Zhang Yan said, "The two directors of tourist offices in India have done a fantastic job. Tourism provides fillip to a country's economy and is especially important in the backdrop of current recession." Quoting World Tourism Organisation report he said that China has maintained its fourth position in tourism in the last four years.

"We are the two largest populations of the world attached by ancient cultures and have common boundaries. We see challenges in further developing tourism and China needs to create more variety and packages to attract tourists. I am sure we can together create more opportunities. I also believe that improved tourism exchange will enhance mutual trust," he added.

The ambassador also emphasised that Chinese tourism industry should create more avenues for improved traffic from China to India because of its unique culture, exotic land and great food.

Expressing his views Sujit Banerjee said, "Both the countries carry a heritage which no country in the world can match. With over 1.3 billion Chinese and 1.1 billion Indian population and our economies growing at nine and eight per cent respectively, the countries can be great source markets for each other. We need to take the two agreements signed on tourism exchange forward in a wider context."

The tourism secretary also said that India can learn a great deal from China and Macau in not only developing tourist traffic but also in creating sound tourism infrastructures like hotels.

After his speech, Chinese dancers thrilled the audience with a scintillating performance.

Meanwhile, Alice Wang, informed, "India figures in the 15th -17th category as a source market for China and we plan to work on special packages and drive India to the top 10 league. We are working closely to promote meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions segment and business travel from India. In 2008, 51.4 million overnight foreign visitors travelled to China out of which four lakh were Indians. There are certain Chinese food items that satisfy the Indian taste for spicy food. Besides, China has a lot to offer from heritage sites to mountains, beaches, rivers and winter sports." Wang further said, "CNTO will play an important role as non-diplomat and will work closely with the Indian travel industry."

Also speaking on the occasion, SanJeet said, "Macau is a melting pot where East meets West. Indians do not need visa to go to Macau. Besides, the one-city destination offers virtually everything an Indian visitor can aspire for; be it vegetarian food, shopping experience, water or adventure sports, entertainment, there is always an option to cater to every taste." He also informed that despite the economic meltdown, the destination registered a growth of 33 per cent in January over the same period last year. In 2008, Macau received 84,000 visitors from India, registering a growth of 85 per cent over 2007.

As the members of the travel fraternity were requested to drop their visiting cards in a fish bowl, a lucky draw was taken out and the winners were given away prizes, courtesy CNTO and MGTO.

Alice Wang gave the vote of thanks, which was followed by a lunch. Finally, an egg tart box was presented to all the guests who attended the programme.