Tajikistan launches initiative in India to promote tourism

The Central Asian country of Tajikistan recently held its maiden initiative in the Indian market to attract outbound travellers from the country. Mirzosharif A Jalolov, Ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan to India informed about the E-Tourist Visa regime which takes three working days to process visa applications and confirmed to further speed up the process in India. On the connectivity front, national carrier Tajik Air will be flying twice a week (Tuesday and Friday) between Delhi and Dushanbe from November 1 onwards. The Ambassador highlighted the eco-tourism and adventure travel offerings in the region. “The eastern part of Tajikistan is famous among trekkers and rafters. Our natural hot springs offer great medicinal value too. The best season to visit is from September onwards. A number of India travellers visit Tajikistan in winters and opt for adventure sports while mid-age Indians frequent in summers for nightlife,” he said. On the film tourism front, he assured of ground assistance for shooting Indian films in Tajikistan. In 2015, Tajikistan welcomed 4.14 lakh visitors, a 94% increase, from across the globe. Out of the same over 1000 were Indian travellers. This year, the destination has witnessed 1.64 lakh arrivals from January to June 2016, an 11% increase over the same period the previous year. Jalolov also highlighted that they will be organising a familiarisation trip in association with Dushanbe Tourism and Tajik Air for Indian travel agents and tour operators from November 1 onwards.