Trade and investment flows will further increase if both India and Latin American nations (LAC) take firm steps to improve air and sea connectivity, according to MEA officials.
The opening of the expanded Panama Canal in 2015 will provide new prospects for maritime connectivity.
?India should also look to leverage transit trade facilities in El Salvador, Panama and Uruguay to access the wider LAC markets,? the officials added.
In fact, bilateral tourism promotion also needs focused attention as currently the number of Indian tourists travelling to LAC regions is relatively small due to lack of awareness of tourist destinations in the region.
This is equally true of LAC tourist flows to India, they added.
According to CII officials, ?At the forthcoming two-day India-LAC conclave in New Delhi starting December 9, direct shipping, air connectivity, visa on arrival facility and increasing tourist traffic between India and the region will be on the table for discussion.?
ProExport Colombia, an agency that promotes export and foreign investment in Colombia, will start promoting tourism as well from 2014.
?Till now the focus for ProExport has been foreign direct investment and exports. From 2014 onwards, we will start to work to promote international tourism as well,? Juan Alfredo Pinto, former ambassador of Colombia to India told FE.
While international air traffic to and from India is expected to reach 50 million by the end of this year, Latin American countries have been slow in attracting Indian visitors.
For instance, in 2012, only 3,862 visitors from India went to Colombia. However, according to the embassy officials, Colombia is issuing nearly 120 new visas to Indians on a monthly basis this year.
?The outbound tourist traffic from India is around 15 million passengers per year and most of them are looking for new destinations. Colombia with several connections to US and Europe becomes an easy exotic destination to reach,? officials of ProExport Colombia added.
During the recently concluded visit of Vice President Hamid Ansari to the region, Peru?s National Tourism Chamber (Canatur) head Carlos Canales announced that the South American nation is studying the possibility of establishing air connections with India via Panama.
