JEDDAH, 28 October — With India emerging as a major tourist attraction for Saudis and other Arab nationals in the wake of Sept.11, New Delhi is eager to roll out its traditional red carpet for the young and old from this region.

Indian Civil Aviation Minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, who is spearheading a new drive to attract more Arabs to the country, will lead a delegation of state tourism ministers to the Kingdom early next year.

Shahnawaz, who was here this week to perform Umrah, told Arab News that he planned to build on the "tremendous response" to his Gulf tour in April last year.

"In the post-Sept. 11 scenario, India is fast emerging as an attractive and safe destination for tourists from the Arab world. The government is making all-out efforts to cash in on this trend by offering facilities and services that match any tourist destination in the West," Shahnawaz said.

"Targeting the Gulf and the Middle East region is high on the list of priorities for India’s tourism industry," he said.

India holds many tourist attractions and facilities to meet varied budgets and interests. Promotional campaigns have made the world more aware of destinations such as Kerala, Bangalore, the southern Indian hill stations and nature resorts.

"We need to promote niche markets in order to increase per capita spending and duration of stay. Also, we will be focusing on both young and mature travelers as also students. This is a growing segment which we need to nurture."

India’s geographical proximity to the Middle East and the 200-plus weekly flights providing easy connections are built-in advantages for Arab tourists, he said. Official figures indicate that more and more Arab tourists are visiting India.

"Many Arabs are also going to India for medical treatment and rest," he said. India’s unmatched tranquillity is alluring to many. "With our focused effort in Saudi Arabia, we hope to penetrate this market, which holds tremendous potential for the future," Shahnawaz said.

As for Indo-Saudi relations, the minister said, "they are getting stronger by the day. The Saudi authorities are always cooperating with us." He said a new aviation agreement between India and the Kingdom will be signed in the last week of December to further strengthen the centuries-old ties.

The first such agreement was signed in April, 1973 and was last reviewed in September, 1993. Consul General Syed Akbaruddin, who accompanied the minister, said India’s Civil Aviation Ministry had sought a review of the agreement and the Saudi officials agreed.

Shahnawaz said Bodh Gaya in his native Bihar will be linked next month by air to Sri Lanka and Thailand. Indian Airlines will operate weekly flights from Gaya to Bangkok from Nov. 6.

It will be followed by weekly Srilankan Airlines flights to Colombo. Srilankan will begin flights to Bodh Gaya from Nov. 12. The inaugural flight will fly direct to Bodh Gaya from Colombo and return via New Delhi. Indian Airlines will fly via Calcutta and Srilankan via New Delhi, sources said.

This will be followed by more connections to other South Asian countries. A Buddhist city of importance, Bodh Gaya is a small town 10 km from the ancient city of Gaya and 110 km from the state capital Patna. Countries such as Thailand, Japan, Burma and Taiwan are also expected to start air services to Bodh Gaya soon, he said.

Meanwhile, the stage is set for Haj flights to operate from Jan. 4. Air-India, Indian Airlines and Saudi Arabian Airlines will ferry some 75,000 pilgrims from 11 Indian cities.

Saudi Arabian Airlines is scheduled to fly around 34, 0000 pilgrims, from New Delhi, Bombay, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. Pilgrims from Delhi and Hyderabad will go back from Madinah itself after the Haj, the consul general said.

Air-India sources said the airline will begin direct flights from Calicut to Dammam in December and to Riyadh next summer. Air India, which is in the process of acquiring a new fleet of aircraft, will launch direct flights to other Gulf destinations from Calicut soon, sources said.