India, Philippines to Cooperate in Tourism

New Delhi, Jan 29 (IANS) India and the Philippines Thursday discussed ways to promote two-way exchange in tourism sector. During a meeting here between union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma and Philippines Minister Ramon R. Jimenez, both the sides discussed issues ranging from connectivity, infrastructure, hospitality, hotel management and education. According to a statement, Sharma highlighted the steps taken by India to promote tourism like visa on arrival enabled by electronic travel authorisation. Sharma said India has a lot to offer in terms of tourism and culture as well as history. Jimenez said the Philippines has a lot to offer in the area of human resource development because of the presence of several good institutes of tourism, hospitality, restaurant and hotel management institutes for collaboration with India. He also disclosed that the Philippines was exploring the possibility of lifting visa requirements for Indians on an experimental basis for 2015-16. Highlighting the difficulty of connectivity between the two countries, the Philippines minister urged his Indian counterpart to take it up on a priority basis.