Category Archives: MOT

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will set up another museum to house objects excavated from across India which have been lying in the Central Antiquities Collection at Purana Quila. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 2 crore and is proposed to be opened by April 2020. The museum will be housed in the arched cells of Purana Quila. Central Antiquity Collection Section is a centre for housing the collection of antiquities explored and excavated by Archaeological Survey of India. These antiquities date back from the pre-historic period to post independence era. The objective to open new museum is to display antiquities such as tools, potteries, terracotta, beads of semi-precious stones, sculptures, architectural fragments, etc. for general public, students and research scholars. This information was given by the Minister of State (I/c) of Culture and Tourism, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

Meenakshi Sharma, Director General, Tourism, updated the industry stakeholders on the initiatives of Ministry of Tourism (MOT) at the 8th Update and Outlook Meeting organised by PATA India Chapter. Speaking at the event, she revealed that the Incredible India Tourism Facilitator Certification (IITFC) Programme will finally be launched in the first week of January 2020, and the registrations for the same would begin in the last week of December 2019. She said, “The Tourism Facilitator scheme came up last year as a thought process and had the approval of the authorities. We are ready to launch the scheme and hopefully by first week of January it will be out. Registrations would begin in last week of December 2019.”

Anup Wadhawan, Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has requested the healthcare industry to set up an online web portal, which will facilitate international patients coming to India for treatment. The portal will have relevant information and services to help patients plan their travel and treatment. Speaking at the 5th International Summit on Medical Value Travel at ‘Advantage Healthcare India 2019’, Wadhawan said, “Medical value travel is beyond just treatment, it’s treatment-plus and the industry should see what the qualitative aspects are that need to be improved in our healthcare services.” Wadhawan added that India has significant medical infrastructure, yet the majority of these are in the metro cities. To provide comprehensive medical coverage, it is imperative that rural areas should also have access to the latest and affordable healthcare.

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has announced Incredible India roadshows in the cities of Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok to be organised in December 2019. In a statement, the Overseas Marketing Division of MOT said that the roadshow in Singapore will take place on December 9, while in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, the roadshow will take place on December 10 and December 12 respectively. The registrations for this last series of roadshows in the current calender year has already opened and notified to all the associations. The Ministry has asked the interested people to notify about their participation latest by November 15.

G Kamala Vardhana Rao, IAS, Kerala Cadre has joined as the Chairman and Managing Director (C&MD) of India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC). Before assuming the office at ITDC, Rao was serving as the Principal Secretary, Government of Kerala. He was also the Secretary of Kerala Tourism from 2014-15. In his career spanning almost three decades, Rao has served multiple positions including Chairman of Indian Tobacco Board, Director of Fisheries Department, Director, Department of Tourism & Culture, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Managing Director of SC /ST Corporation in Andhra Pradesh, the Revenue Secretary of Kerala and the District Collector, Kollam, Kerala.

Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, informed that the theme of the Indian pavilion which will be promoted by the Ministry at WTM London would be, ‘Find the Incredible You’, inspired by the award-winning campaign of the ministry released globally a few months ago. The campaign focusses on digital and social media and the promotion of niche tourism products of the country. It focuses on transformative experiences, brought alive through unique storytelling in the format of autobiographies of travellers, with the tagline ‘Find the Incredible You’. “Against the earlier theme of just Incredible India, this time the theme has moved to ‘Find the Incredible You’. This essentially is the philosophy of India. There are just so many things about India, which we feel that tourists from all over the world should be coming and discovering about themselves, weather it could be realm of Yoga or wellness or adventure or heritage or just disappearing into thousand year old history that our country is able to showcase. We are also celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi this year. This is going to be one significant part of the Indian pavilion at WTM London. Other thing, which we are going to promote is the new destinations such as the Statue of Unity situated in Gujarat, which is also the tallest statue in the world. There are other tourism destinations developing around the statue, which would also remain as one significant theme of our pavilion,” Brar explained. Apart from the different stakeholders of the industry, including state governments, wellness organisations, tour operators and hotels are also participating in WTM London along with the Ministry of Tourism, Government …

Ministry of Tourism with Indian Institute of Travel & Tourism Management has organised an Adventure Tourism Training Courses in Trekking. Over 30 local youth enrolled in the first batch which started on 24 September 2019. Approximately 90 local youth will be trained in three batches. The 10-day training course trained local youth in various aspects of mountain trekking and also gives them hands on experience.

Ministry of Tourism has released 11 itineraries, that will trace the life of Mahatma Gandhi, under the ‘Gandhi Gramin Circuit’, announced Yogendra Tripathi, Secretary, Tourism. Tour operators are going to promote the circuit throughout the year to mark Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th Birth Anniversary celebrations. All these locations are directly connected with Mahatma Gandhi. Not only his birthplace, Porbandar, Gujarat, but all the locations he worked, lived and connected with people throughout his life. These locations include Mani Bhavan in Mumbai, Aga Khan Palace in Pune, Champaran in Bihar, National Gandhi Museum in New Delhi, Birla House (Where Gandhi was assassinated), Rajghat (Memorial dedicated to Gandhi) and certain places in Kolkata as well, where he led his movements during the freedom struggle of the country. Crafting some diverse tours and packages to sensitise the people about Gandhi, the itineraries include Shimla as well, where Gandhi spent a significant amount of time in his life.

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism and Culture, has announced that single-use plastic will not be allowed within ASI protected monuments and within 100 m of these monuments. He made the announcement at the launch of Paryatan Parv 2019, which was inaugurated on October 2, 2019 at Rajpath lawns, by Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Information & Broadcasting and Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Minister of Steel. Expressing his happiness that the inauguration of the Paryatan Parv is coinciding with the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Patel said, “In line with Mahatma Gandhi’s thoughts regarding sustainable and clean tourism, efforts are being made to phase out single use plastics in various organisations of ASI and MOT. Single Use Plastics will no longer be permitted within ASI protected Monuments and within 100 m of these Monuments.” Paryatan Parv is being held in Delhi till October 6 and across the country till October 13, 2019.

Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu presented the National Tourism Awards 2017-18 on World Tourism Day in New Delhi. A total of 76 Awards under various categories were presented. The Union Minister of State for Tourism & Culture (IC) Prahlad Singh Patel;Secretary-General of United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Zurab Pololikashvili; Tourism Minister of Paraguay, Sofia Montiel De Afara; Tourism Secretary Yogendra Tripathi; DG Tourism, Meenakshi Sharma, senior officers of Ministry of tourism and 82 international delegates were  among those present on the occasion.