Category Archives: MOT

The Centre has asked states to vaccinate its tour operators, hotel employees, drivers and other industry stakeholders on priority to bring back confidence in the sector. Tourism Secretary Arvind Singh said, “We have taken it up with state governments that vaccination of all tourism stakeholders should be done on priority so that we gain a sense of confidence.”

In response to a key demand of the hospitality industry, the Ministry of Tourism has initiated a proposal for inclusion of tourism in the Concurrent List of the Constitution. This step could bring a coordinated approach from the Centre and the states in this sector, especially after the impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The Ministry of Tourism has taken up the issue of inclusion of tourism in the Concurrent List with the concerned Ministry, so that tourism can be placed on the national agenda,” the Ministry has said in a reply to a Parliamentary Standing Committee whose report was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.

In his opinion piece on Moneycontrol.com, Suman Billa, Director, Technical Cooperation & Silk Road at UNWTO, advised, “Enable travel in a predictable and hassle-free manner. A national committee with the Ministries of Tourism, Civil Aviation and Health along with representatives from the states and industry should be set up to prescribe and harmonise travel restrictions across India.”

Ajay Bhatt, Minister of State, Tourism, has said in a tweet that work on weather road to connect Char Dham is going on along with Rishikesh- Karnaprayag rail line. Apart from that, in Uttarakhand, renovation work of Kedarnath is also being carried out under the BJP Government in the state.

G Kishan Reddy, Cabinet Minister, Tourism & Culture, in a written reply to Rajya Sabha, shared that around 21.5 million people working in the sector lost their jobs during the nine-month period from April 2020-December 2020. He said that a significant number of jobs were lost in the tourism sector once the lockdown was implemented. “About 14.5 million jobs during Q1, 5.2 million during Q2 and 1.8 million jobs during Q3 were expected to have been lost as compared to estimated 34.8 million jobs in the pre-pandemic period of 2019-20 [direct jobs],” he shared.

PATA’s webinar ‘Asia Pacific Tourism Forecast’, is set to be held today at 12.00 pm. During this webinar, participants will get to meet Liz Ortiguera, the new CEO of PATA, who will share insights on the future of travel & tourism around the world, with a focus on Asia Pacific. Also, Prof John Koldowski, School of Tourism, Leshan University, China, and a renowned tourism analyst will share indepth analysis on the forecast for Asia Pacific Tourism. Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Bku5hVW-TRq5f_SiqmD5IQ.

Gurpal Singh Chahal (IAS), Deputy Commissioner – Ferozepur District, Government of Punjab, informed that recently Punjab Government has sanctioned Rs 5 crore for developing light and sound show at the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala Border. The Indo-Pak Retreat Ceremony at Hussainiwala Border is a popular activity and can be witnessed from as close as 100 feet from the Zero Line. If developed and marketed properly, this can outshine the retreat ceremony at Wagah Border.    

The Directorate of Tourism, Jammu is now trying to promote a little-known destination in the UT called Kishtwar. Rupinder Brar, Additional DG, MoT, said that Kishtwar is blessed with beautiful geaography and rich culture, and has immense potential with regard to several types of tourism, ranging from nature to ethnic tourism. She said, “We need to work with the local administration and develop connectivity to the destination, hospitality units workforce quality and marketing strategy for Kishtwar. We are planning roadshows and other promo activities to promote the region extensively.”

G Kishan Reddy, Cabinet Minister for Tourism & Culture, held a review meeting with ministers and senior officials of the northeastern states on development of tourism and promotion of the culture of the region. At the meeting held in the Assamese city of Guwahati, representatives shared their commitment to the holistic and inclusive development of the tourism sector in the Northeast.

Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, has said that the Ministry will participate in World Expo 2020, being organised from Oct 2021 to March 2022 in Dubai. “We will especially be undertaking a major promotion during the tourism fortnight, which will be organised from December 31, 2021 to January 13, 2022 at the Expo. We look forward to participating as an important stakeholder at the India pavilion in Dubai,” he added.