Category Archives: States

Speaking at a virtual meet recently, Dr Venu V, Additional Chief Secretary Tourism, Govt of Kerala, discussed plans to make tourism development in Kerala environmentally sustainable, community-led and economically beneficial to the local people. He also spoke about creating community-level linkages and encouraging adoption of responsible tourism principles and practices among stakeholders.

Gujarat Tourism recently conducted a physical roadshow for the travel agents and tour operators of Madhya Pradesh. The event was held in Indore as well as Bhopal and was attended by RK Misha, Assistant Director, Director of Tourism, Deepika Roy Choudhary, Deputy Director of Madhya Pradesh Tourism, along with Hemendra Singh Jadon, Chapter Chairman (MP-CG) of TAAI. Gujarat showcased its new and popular tourism products including the Statue of Unity and Champaner. Dholavira in Gujarat has also been recently added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Nearly after 59 years, the Government of Uttarakhand has now opened the Gartang Gali trek for the tourists after completing the required restoration and repair work. Gartang Gali is 500-meter long timber-lined stairway in the Nelang, built by the Peshawari Pathans. Speaking on the occasion, Tourism Minister of Uttarakhand, Shri Satpal Maharaj said, “The opening of Gatang Gali trek has added a new dimension to the adventure tourism activities in the state of Uttarakhand. The bridge has historical and strategic importance in the history of Uttarakhand and demonstrates the coordinal trade relations of the country with its neighbours since ancient times.” Gartang Gali was used as a route between India and Tibet by Dorji’s  (Tibetan merchants) to reach Uttarkashi via Sumla, Mandi to trade items like Salt, Jaggery, Spices, Gold, Pashmina wool etc. However after the Indo-China war in Year 1962, Nelang valley was closed for the general tourists and visitors, as the place came under the inner line area of Uttarkashi. In 2015, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India granted permission for opening up the Nelang Ghati and Jadung for tourists, however the wooden bridge remained inaccessible to the public due to its bad conditions. Tourists can now visit the place and have pleasant walk over the wooden bridge build in the traditional style by cutting through a single rock.  This bridge gives an exciting view of Nelang Valley, which is rich in flora and fauna and is home to rare animals such as snow leopards and blue sheep. Dilip Jawalkar, Tourism Secretary, Uttarakhand said, “The government of Uttarakhand is working consistently to revive the tourism sector of the state which has been affected by the pandemic. …

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Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister, Maharashtra, on Tuesday launched many initiatives of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) to boost tourism in the state. The projects include initiatives such as a new boat club at Ganpatipule in Ratnagiri, a renovated MTDC resort at Sinhagad fort in Pune, and a new website of MTDC that will go live from Wednesday. MTDC also signed Memoranda of Understanding with online travel companies MakeMyTrip and Goibibo to promote MTDC properties and with M/s SkyHigh India to start skydiving and adventure sports activities. A MoU was also signed with Maharashtra State Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Pune, for annual training of MTDC staff.

Pramod Sawant, CM, Goa, has said that they have no plans to open the tourism sector in the state, and the state curfew has been extended for another week. He said, “We are seeing an average of one or two COVID deaths daily and the case positivity rate has been down around 2%.” While curfew restrictions are in force since May, the state has seen increased tourist arrivals. Sawant has requested people to take precautions.

G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism, Culture & DoNER, held a meeting with Invest India team to discuss the strategy policy for the promotion of tourism in Ladakh. In a tweet, Reddy said, “This will help in paving the way for the UT’s tourism sector by bringing growth and investment.” The MOT is also planning to visit Ladakh this month with a huge delegation and also release a vision document on the destination as well.

Valsa Nair, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Excise & Civil Aviation Govt Of Maharashtra, said, “The policy that has really led the tourism revival in Maharashtra is the vacation rental policy, which was a new discovery in the COVID times. A lot of independent houses and farmhouses in the state have now been thrown open to tourists. While many are ordinary ones, some are exclusive and owned by HNIs. There are many categories and the prices have skyrocketed. There are also operators who are now running such homes. As government, we are in the final stages to make it easier for the tourists to book into these vacation homes and make it easier for the owners to ensure that the right tourists come. We are also building in the food and civil supplies department. We are also bringing in the police to ensure that these are exactly used for the right purposes. The vacation rental I think is going to be the backbone of tourism revival in Maharashtra.”

Tourism ADG Rupinder Brar has announced that the country will have a uniform national travel guidelines soon, stating that demand for balancing internal travel has been raised by private industry stakeholders. “The Ministry is working on this and directions will be given to states in this regard. The Ministry is also in dialogue with Ministry of Health and is working on systems that can assure safety to reopen destinations for international travel.”

Gujarat Tourism recently conducted a physical roadshow for travel agents and tour operators of Telangana. It was also attended by Chairman of Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation, Uppalla Srinivas Gupta who stressed the need to promote tourism ties between the two states. Sai Rupa Datta, Assistant Director, India Tourism, was also present at the event.