Category Archives: States

Rani George, Principal Secretary – Tourism, Government of Kerala, has said that the new tourism campaigns by the state government are helping Kerala resume tourism and that Ayurveda can be an added attraction for tourists arriving in the state. “We are also seeking suggestions from tourism stakeholders on how we can further promote domestic tourism in Kerala,” she added.

Vishal Kumar Dev, IAS, Principal Secretary, Dept. of Tourism, Sports & YS, Govt. of Odisha at a interactive meeting with HRAO members and government officials in Bhubaneswar said that new Tourism Policy in Odisha is ready to publish and will be declared after announcement of IPR. He also said that tourism has been given a priority sector by Chief Minister and as a result the tourism budget for the year 2021-22 has got doubled to Rs 1500 crore. “.  The Government is also working on various plans like development of hospitality infrastructure in the tourism sector to bring number of good category hotels to the State. He assured that next 2 / 3 years will be very exciting time for tourism to take to its greater height and will be the best tourist destination in the country,” he said.

Union Minister for Culture & Tourism, Prahlad Singh Patel, was the Chief Guest at the inauguration ceremony of Udaipur Science Centre in Tripura. Late last year, it was announced by Government of Tripura that the state will have its first Science City by early 2021, while a sub-centre of the science city will also be inaugurated around the same time. Also present at the inauguration was Tripura Governor Ramesh Bais. The Ministry of Culture operates Scheme for Promotion of Culture of Science (SPOCS) which provides for setting up of Science Cities and Science Centres in all the states of the country. Science Cities are already established in Kolkata, Kapurthala, Ahmedabad and Lucknow.

Government of Andhra Pradesh has issued a Restart Package to support the tourism sector in the state. The approved package of Rs198.50 crore is a loan for hotels, M!CE, function halls, restaurants and service providers by extending interest subsidy at 50% of the interest on the loan for 12 months subject to a maximum of 4.50% of the loan amount for one year.

The Goa government has granted an extension of 6 months to the off-shore casinos operating on Mandovi river in Panaji till an alternate location is recommended to them. Vessels with casinos can continue their operations for another 6 months from 31 March to 30 September.  

The Jammu & Kashmir Tourism Department has restarted the online mode of registration of tourism units. Secretary, Tourism of the state, Sarmad Hafiz formally kick-started the online service by handing over the registration to two unitholders. He said the portal is very dynamic and user-friendly which will streamline the registration process by a great measure.  

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath will soon be visiting Ayodhya to review the progress of the developmental works that are being carried out to provide world-class facilities to tourists. He will visit spots and oversee the progress of projects which include expansion of Bhajan Sandhya Sthal, Queen Ho Memorial Park, Ram Katha Park, and beautification of Ram Kath Gallery, Ram Ki Paidi. Development works include widening city roads, construction of multilevel parking sites and revamp of bus and railway station.

In order to revive film shoots in Jammu & Kashmir, a delegation of film-makers led by producer Mahaveer Jain met Nitishwar Kumar, J&K Principal Secretary to LG, to discuss challenges and opportunities. Also present at this meeting in Mumbai were filmmakers Ekta Kapoor and Imtiaz Ali.

Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism, in his address at the 10th ADTOI Convention has said that Kevadia is the most powerful example of how tourism can improve the standard of living of all. He also added that things are returning to normal in the last quarter of this financial year, adding that 2020 was unprecedented in many ways. Singh also informed that constant discussions are going on with the Ministry of Home Affairs and Health Ministry to relax the ban on tourist visas and the right decision will be taken in this matter when the appropriate time comes.

With a special package of Rs 300 crore received from Centre to celebrate its independence from Portuguese rule, Goa government now may have to part with some of it for tourism. Nilesh Shah, President of Travel & Tourism Association of Goa, says “We hope 50 per cent of this fund is allocated to tourism.” There is no clarity on when the funds would be disbursed and if they would come for any specific purpose.