Northern Ireland’s Enterprise and Tourism Minister, Arlene Foster, currently in Mumbai to participate in a trade and investment mission to the country, has encouraged travel companies in India to promote Northern Ireland as a destination for both tourism and business.

India’s burgeoning outbound tourism sector has been a target for many countries looking to bolster their international visitor numbers. The United Nations World Tourism Organisation has recently identified India as being one of the fastest growing travel markets for the next few years.

Currently, around eight million Indians holiday abroad annually, a figure that is predicted to shoot up to over 50 million by the year 2020.

With the reduction in tourist arrivals due to the recession, Northern Ireland is keen to tap into the Indian market — with a view to bolstering its tourism industry — which has recently witnessed a spate of closures among its travel companies.

The Tourism Minister says Northern Ireland has set the ambitious goal to increase its visitor numbers to 2.5 million by 2011. The government also wants to grow annual tourism revenue to £520 million by the same year.

To achieve these goals, Northern Ireland wants to attract a portion of the vast number of Indians who travel to UK every year, by encouraging them to add a visit to Northern Ireland to their itinerary. London has traditionally been the most popular destination for Indian travellers visiting the UK.