With strengthening bilateral exchanges in economy, trade and tourism between China and India, the number of Chinese tourists to India has grown by 20% annually.

In 2006, China welcomed a total of 405,000 Indian visitors. And in 2007, China broke through the levels of 40 million outbound tourists and 120 million international arrivals: China has emerged as the largest tourist source country in Asia.

In 2007, according to the Embassy of the Republic of India, 51,473 visas were issued to Chinese visitors, compared with 36,150 in 2006. In particular the number of Chinese domestic private enterprises' visa applications to India increased rapidly.

The Indian Embassy in Beijing has inaugurated a new Indian visa application center in the city, which is run by VFS Global Services, a part of the Kuoni Travel Group's India branch. And twelve new visa application centers will be set up in different cities across China over the next few months, all of which will be run by VFS Global Services.