Govt to welcome foreigners with free SIMs in new year
Tourism ministry planning to give activated BSNL postpaid SIM cards to every foreign traveller at airport's arrival desk.
- Dec 30, 2016,
- Updated Dec 30, 2016 10:22 AM IST
A Surprise gift awaits foreign tourists coming to India in the next few weeks. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MoCT) plans to hand over a 'free and activated BSNL postpaid SIM card' to each foreign traveller at the airport arrival desk itself. Initially, this would be available to only those who have obtained an e-Tourist Visa, said officials.
It will be part of a 'Welcome' package to be given to vacationers planning to explore India so that they do not experience any communication hassles. Winter is a muchloved season for oversees tourists in India due to the pleasant temperature and comfort in sightseeing.
Not just do visitors like to experience snowfall in heritage hill stations like Shimla (Himachal), Patnitop (J&K) and Auli (Uttarakhand), but a number of grand fairs and festivals take place across the country during this time. This includes the Konark Dance Festival (Odisha), Rann Mahotsav (Gujarat), Thrissur's traditional arts-crafts and Ayurveda fairs (Kerala), Sunburn Festival (Goa) and Hornbill Festival (Kohima, Nagaland), etc. The MoCT plans to make hay while the sun shines and earn some goodwill this season.
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A senior officer said, "Many tourists complain of call drops and inflated bills on purchasing SIMs/connections of private service providers here. We thought why not make their stay even more pleasant by providing them a free activated BSNL postpaid SIM. Needless to say, that would also promote the State-owned telecom company." The '24x7 Toll Free Multi-Lingual Tourist Helpline' number would also be fed into these SIMs beforehand, he said.
This helpline, launched in February this year, has services in 12 international languages namely, Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. India registered a significant growth in Foreign Tourists Arrival (FTA) and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) in November 2016.
A Surprise gift awaits foreign tourists coming to India in the next few weeks. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MoCT) plans to hand over a 'free and activated BSNL postpaid SIM card' to each foreign traveller at the airport arrival desk itself. Initially, this would be available to only those who have obtained an e-Tourist Visa, said officials.
It will be part of a 'Welcome' package to be given to vacationers planning to explore India so that they do not experience any communication hassles. Winter is a muchloved season for oversees tourists in India due to the pleasant temperature and comfort in sightseeing.
Not just do visitors like to experience snowfall in heritage hill stations like Shimla (Himachal), Patnitop (J&K) and Auli (Uttarakhand), but a number of grand fairs and festivals take place across the country during this time. This includes the Konark Dance Festival (Odisha), Rann Mahotsav (Gujarat), Thrissur's traditional arts-crafts and Ayurveda fairs (Kerala), Sunburn Festival (Goa) and Hornbill Festival (Kohima, Nagaland), etc. The MoCT plans to make hay while the sun shines and earn some goodwill this season.
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A senior officer said, "Many tourists complain of call drops and inflated bills on purchasing SIMs/connections of private service providers here. We thought why not make their stay even more pleasant by providing them a free activated BSNL postpaid SIM. Needless to say, that would also promote the State-owned telecom company." The '24x7 Toll Free Multi-Lingual Tourist Helpline' number would also be fed into these SIMs beforehand, he said.
This helpline, launched in February this year, has services in 12 international languages namely, Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. India registered a significant growth in Foreign Tourists Arrival (FTA) and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) in November 2016.