Category Archives: MOT

Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply to a query in Rajya Sabha said that the central government has initiated a study to quantify the quantum of loss suffered by the tourism sector due to the COVID pandemic. He also said that the record of the revenue generated through tourism was not maintained by the Ministry of Tourism.

Ministry of Tourism has no plans to approach the GST Council for reducing GST on all hotel rooms to 12%, Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said. “MOT is aware of taxes levied on tourism products, including hotels, as the same directly impacts country’s tourism competitiveness vis-a-vis other countries but presently, MOT has no plans to approach GST council,” he said.

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C), Tourism & Culture, shared that the budget has announced the opening of wellness centres in urban as well as rural areas, which would boost wellness tourism in the country. “It is a budget of the country which will propagate the theme of Atmanirbhar Bharat further.”

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the first paperless Budget of the country focused on building infrastructure but unfortunately had no mention on tourism and hospitality industry apart from introducing Vista Dome coaches on tourist routes. The tourism budget too has been reduced by almost 18 per cent, from Rs 2,499.33 crore in 2020 to Rs 2,032.04 crore in 2021. Apart from proposing tax exemption for aircraft leasing companies and plans to monetise AAI airports in tier-II and tier-III cities, the aviation industry too didn’t receive any relief. The FM announced Rs 1.10 lakh crore for outlay of Railways and capital expenditure along with a National Railway Plan for 2030. Additionally, more economic corridors are being planned to boost road infrastructure and tax holiday for startups has been extended by one year. The FM also announced tax exemption for LTC

Under its ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’ initiative, Indiatourism Mumbai office recently conducted a roadshow in Indore. This was followed by a three-day Fam tour to Mandu and Maheshwar in MP along with a city tour of Indore, sponsored by MP Tourism. Present at the roadshow were Sonia Meena, Deputy Secretary and Additional Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board. More than 20 agents were a part of this Fam. The Ahmedabad-Indore-Ahmedabad tickets were sponsored by Flybig.

Minister of Tourism & Culture, Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurated the second edition of India Dialogues Conclave, hosted at Delhi’s Shangri-La Hotel. The platform has been created with the vision of giving voice to young India on the digital surface at large. It allows Heads of state, political leaders, social media icons, youth icons, ministers, policymakers and game changers to present their views. 

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State, Tourism & Culture, in his address at the launch of Bharat Parv, said that tourism was the most affected industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, but positive attitude and effective planning of the government is helping this industry to rebound in a magnificent way. “The diverse culture of India is our great strength and we can introduce it to the world through tourism,” he said.

Venkatesan D, Regional Director of Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India recently visited Indore to interact with more than 50 members of TAAI’s MP & CG Chapter led by Hemendra Singh Jadon, Chapter Chairman. The discussion was around the importance of promoting India, new products in MP, and new strategies for selling including using more and more social media to showcase experiences and destinations, as well as involving social influencers.

Rupinder Brar, ADG, Tourism, recently informed the tourism stakeholders recently that MOT, in partnership with the Public Health Foundation of India would be organising a series of workshops and seminars for various segments of the travel and hospitality industry on health and safety during and post COVID times. She urged all Associations to ensure that their members participate in these workshops. Further, if there was any segment for which they would like these workshops to be arranged, they may inform MOT.

In a meeting held between industry stakeholders and Ministry of Tourism, chaired by Rupinder Brar, ADG, MOT, it was shared that SOPs are required for the segment of transport operators as well, since these are not included in the present SOPs. The meeting was held to discuss preparedness of stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industries to received international tourists once the e-Tourist Visa is restored, with required protocols in place.