Piyush Goyal, Indian Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles and Australia's The Hon Dan Tehan MP, Minister of Trade, Tourism and Investment signe dthe agreement on behalf of the their respective countries.

The MoU in the field of tourism will enhance cooperation and encourage Expansion of bilateral relations in tourism between India and Australia, the Tourism Ministry said in a statement.

The MoU will facilitate Exchange of information and data related to tourism, Cooperation between tourism stakeholders, particularly hotels and tour operators, Cooperation and exchanges between training and education providers in tourism and hospitality, Investment in the tourism and hospitality sectors, Visits of tour operators and wholesalers, media and opinion makers, High quality, safe, ethical and sustainable tourism development, Interest in major cultural, artistic and sporting events, Opportunities for traveler education on applicable laws, rules and instructions in each other’s country and Enhanced tourism engagement in multilateral fora.

Australia is one of the most important tourism generating markets for India (ranked 4th in terms of Foreign Tourist Arrivals to the country in 2019 and contributing 3.4 per cent in total tourism share of foreign tourists in the country), the ministry said.

The signing of MoU with Australia will be instrumental in increasing tourists’ arrival from this important source market. India and Australia had previously signed a MoU on tourism cooperation in the field of tourism on November 18, 2014.  This MoU expired in 2019.

The number of Australian visited India has increased consistently in the last few years. In 2016, 2,93,625 Australian tourists visited India which increased to 3,67,241 in 2019 and the Number of Indians visited Australia also increased consistently from 2,62,250 to 5,89,539 in 2019.  From November 27, 2014, India is offering Electronic Tourist Visa to citizens of Australia.

Presently, the India's Tourism Ministry has MoUs with 45 countries. The present MoU between India and Australia in the field of Tourism is expected to give a fillip to tourism promotion post pandemic between the countries.