Tag Archives: Ministry of Tourism

PATA India Chapter in cooperation with Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, is conducting its business development roadshows in six European cities from October 17-27, 2016. The roadshow will begin in Helsinki (Finland) on October 17, and move on to Stockholm (Sweden) on October 18, Copenhagen (Denmark) on October 20, Vienna (Austria) on October 24, Prague (Czech Republic) on October 26, and conclude in Warsaw (Poland) on October 27. PATA India Chapter’s Executive Director, Runeep Sangha, said, “PATA looks forward to carrying 15-20 sellers from India including airlines, hotels, special interest groups, and destination management companies.” The meetings aim to promote inbound tourism from these important and emerging source markets for India.

Ministry of Tourism, Government of India (International Cooperation Division) is organising the BRICS Convention on Tourism from September 01-02, 2016, in  Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh. Delegation from the BRICS nations including Tourism Minister of South Africa is expected to participate in the Convention, which is being held as a precursor to the BRICS Summit to be held in Goa on October 15-16, 2016. The two day event will comprise of inter-governmental exchange of views and ideas, panel discussions on technology, innovation in tourism, and cooperation between the BRICS countries for promoting intra-regional tourism. B2B meetings between the India Travel Trade and their counterparts from the BRICS countries will also be organised. Elements of culture, handicrafts and cuisine from different regions of India will be showcased during the convention. The inaugural ceremony and proceedings on September 1, 2016, is being organised at the Convention Centre of Ramada Hotel, Khajuraho. Madhya Pradesh Tourism is sponsoring a gala cultural evening and dinner at Clark’s Hotel Khajuraho on September 01, 2016, for the delegates attending the BRICS convention. On September 02, 2016, panel discussions on the topics, “Cooperation among the BRICS countries for promotion of Tourism” and “Technology, Innovation in Tourism: Adapting to change” has been organised. Post-convention familiarisation tours are also organised for the BRICS delegates from September 03-06, 2016. The itineraries for the familiarisation tour would cover important tourist destinations in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which include Varanasi-Bodhgaya, Orchha/Agra, and Bhopal-Sanchi-Bhimbetka. The familiarisation tours will be hosted by the respective state governments.

Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, recently visited Shanghai in a bid to attract Chinese investment in India’s tourism sector. Close to 20 prominent investors participated in the event which was a part of roadshows being conducted in different parts of the world to promote participation of investors’ at the forthcoming Incredible India Tourism Investors Summit scheduled  to be held at New Delhi from September 21-23, 2016 being organised by MOT, in partnership with Tourism Finance Corporation of India and the CII. The Summit will bring together more than 20 Indian states unveiling a large bouquet of projects close to around 1000 in number, both of core infrastructure and those specific to various themes of tourism be it hospitality, medical, MICE, Buddhist, entertainment and cruise tourism etc, the Secretary informed the Chinese investors. He also said that what makes this Summit unique is that it would see a large no of B2G meetings and states would offer single window for foreign and domestic investors interested in picking up their tourism sector projects in the true spirit of ease of doing business. Zutshi also pointed out that never was there a more favourable time to invest in India than now with strong macro-economic indicators and the current government’s commitment to investment facilitation like never before. Several members who were present from the Chinese side expressed their interest in attending the Summit in now Delhi next month and appreciated the preparation of the Indian Government in attracting Tourism specific foreign investment.

Bharat Parv, a cultural celebration organised by the Ministry of Tourism from August 12-18 at Rajpath, will see participation from 17 states, revealed Vinod Zutshi, Secretary-Tourism, Govt. of India. Defence Minister Manohar Parikar inaugurated the event. Held in commemoration of Independence Day, the celebrations exhibit the vast tourism offerings of the country through a crafts bazaar and cultural performances, and showcase the variety of delicacies in the country. Highlights of the week-long affair include an exhibition by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting termed ‘Azadi 70 Saal – Yaad Karo Kurbani’ along with performances by bands from the Armed Forces. With celebrations commencing midday, the event is free for general public but identity proof will be checked at entries of the venue.

After easing visa services with the introduction of e-Tourist Visa (eTV), the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) is also planning to provide free Wi-Fi services at tourism hubs in India, revealed Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism. He added that after discussions with various service providers, BSNL would most likely work with MOT to offer such provisions.

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) will soon be providing SIM cards for tourists who avail the e-Tourist Visa (eTV) services, informed Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, MOT, Govt. of India. “We are in talks with a few service providers to partner with us for this and it will be launched very soon,” he said. Referring to the proposed eTV for MICE, he said that eTV for business tourists will most likely be rolled out first. He added the department is still working on other proposed amendments in eTV, such as modifying single-entry to multiple & extension of eTV application duration from 30  to 60 days.

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has formed a task force with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to address and simplify regional connectivity scheme. Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, MOT, Government of India, said, “By working together, we aim to make travelling for tourists much simpler especially for those who opt for the different theme based circuits.” A meeting was held last week between the two ministries to discuss the particulars and address complications that may arise. This would also simplify travel for the transnational Buddhist Circuit which is in the pipeline and has recently been approved.

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has advised State Government/Union Territory Administrations to set up Hospitality Development Boards if the same do not exist in their respective States/Union Territories. The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has so far sanctioned 12 Institutes of Hospitality Management in the northeastern states. Out of these Central Institute of Hotel Management, Guwahati, Central Institute of Hotel Management, Shillong, State Institute of Hotel Management, Gangtok and Food Craft Institute, Nawgaon are operational. This information was given by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Culture and Tourism in a written reply in Lok Sabha. The State Government of Maharashtra has reportedly setup Hospitality Development and Promotion Board. List of Institutes in North Eastern States for which Central Financial Assistance has been granted by MOT. 1.    Central Institute of Hotel Management, Guwahati , Assam 2.    State Institute of Hotel Management, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh 3.    State Institute of Hotel Management, Imphal, Manipur 4.    Central Institute of Hotel Management, Shillong, Meghlaya 5.    State Institute of Hotel Management, Aizawl, Mizoram 6.    State Institute of Hotel Management, Dimapur, Nagaland 7.    State Institute of Hotel Management, Gangtok, Sikkim 8.    State Institute of Hotel Management, Agartala, Tripura 9.    State Institute of Hotel Management, Jorhat, Assam 10.  Food Craft Institute, Nawgaon, Assam 11.  Food Craft Institute, Tura, Meghlaya 12.  Food Craft Institute, Namchi, Sikkim

The Ministry of Tourism is planning theme based events for attracting tourists in the country, revealed Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, while addressing he members of Indian Association of Tour Operators in New Delhi. He said, “We are working on theme based events in India in the next six months. We have shortlisted three themes—medical tourism, adventure tourism and MICE tourism. We want to create a buzz about India and partner with FICCI or some other organisation and organise an international event, to attract the world’s attention to the country. However, we will focus on only one such event this year.”

The Ministry of Tourism has confirmed that they are looking to extend the e-Tourist Visa (eTV) facilities to 36 other countries, among which Italy is one of the key countries. “The e-Tourist Visa has been the biggest game-changer for the industry,” commented Suman Billa, Joint Secretary-Tourism, Government of India. “Initially, we began with a handful of countries which were our eight major source countries. We now stand at 150 countries and are looking to expand the list. Most of our most important source countries have already been included but Italy is one of the other major markets that will receive this facility after approval.” During January-June 2016, a total of 4,71,909 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 1,26,214 during January-June 2015, registering a growth of 273.9 per cent. A total of 36,982 tourists arrived in June 2016 on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 15,557 during the month of June 2015 registering a growth of 137.7 per cent.