Category Archives: States

With its plan to attract private investment in its premium properties stuck even five years after signing of the agreements, tourism minister Rohan Khaunte said if the project proponents fail to kickstart the projects, then the government would revisit its decision. “There’s no more waiting. If they fail to carry forward the projects in the next two to three months, we will have to revisit the 2016 agreements. People cannot be sitting idle with tourism properties, Khaunte said.

Abid Rashid Shah, Tourism Secretary, Jammu & Kashmir has shared that the Union Territory received 1.88 crore tourists in 2022. However, the industry is now expecting that they will cross the two crore-mark for tourist arrivals in 2023.

Rajasthan aims to promote water activities and golf tourism alongside its existing attractions. Stakeholders predict a bright future for golf tourism in the state, with the RTDC already issuing an EOI for interested parties to develop and operate golf courses. 

The Tripura government plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore to improve tourism infrastructure and make the state a world-class destination. Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury expressed confidence that the funding will be sufficient for a tourism boom, with support from the Centre. 

Vishwendra Singh, Minister of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan, said, “Under our newly introduced Rural Tourism policy, we are going to re-develop 23 air-strip with private sector support. This will provide a big impetus to tourism in Rajasthan, especially in rural areas and create humongous employment opportunities.”

Around 2.82 lakh passport verification applications were cleared and only 805 rejected in the past three years, Jammu and Kashmir Police said as it defended “deep vetting” of activities of several sections, including politicians and scribes, noting it was needed to curb “anti-India propaganda machinery”.

Prem Krishnan, Additional Director, Kerala Tourism, stated that Caravan Tourism has been recently launched and is gaining momentum. As part of the initiative, 14 tourist hubs are planned to be established along with caravan parks. Private players interested in investing in the caravan business are being offered incentives by the government.  

Nikhil Kumar, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Andaman Tourism said, “Efforts and synergy between the private and public players is necessary to transform Andaman into a hub for island tourism. We propose to establish ourselves as a yacht destination and are also looking for approval that will allow us to have offshore casinos.” 

Nilesh Shah, President, TTAG, has suggested a series of recommendations for Goa’s 2023-24 budget for the improvement and streamlining of the tourism sector in Goa few of them which were mentioned in budget. “One of them is no increase in fees and taxes in tourism-related activities. We also hope to see proper implementation and enforcement of all the measures announced so that all businesses are on a level playing field,” he said.

The Goa Tourism Department, in partnership with Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) India Chapter, is organising its first-ever Roadshow across Europe. The roadshow will start on 18 April from Frankfurt, 20 April Zurich, Vienna on 24 April, and will end in Paris on 26 April.