Category Archives: States

In a bid to boost tourism in the post-pandemic world, the Odisha government is decking up the ecotourism destinations in the state with houseboats as well as water-sport-based recreational facilities. Over 100 destinations are likely to be included in the plan, with boats and jetties expected to be set up by December this year.

Dr. V Venu (IAS) has been appointed as Additional Chief Secretary, Tourism Department, Government of Kerala. An IAS officer of 1990 batch, he has been appointed several times before in the tourism department during his tenure. He has also been appointed as the Additional Chief Secretary, Higher Education. Apart from this, he will be having additional charge of Member Secretary, Planning Board.

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said that 46 heritage places belonging to the Kempegowda era have been identified in three circuits that would be developed at a cost of Rs 223 crore for promoting tourism. A plan has been prepared to develop the Magadi circuit at a cost of Rs 132 crore. Rs 47 crore for the Bengaluru circuit, and Rs 44 crore for the Nandi circuit.

Two more international airports will be added in North Eastern states, at Imphal and Agartala, with the aim of increasing connectivity in the region, said Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region. The airport at Itanagar will be functional by the end of the year and that a facility is also coming up at Kohima. At present, there is an international airport in Guwahati.  

Gujarat Tourism recently organised a familiarisation tour for members of IATO and ADTOI associations in Ahmedabad city. Titled ‘Dekho Ahmedabad’ the agents toured the city on a double decker Bus. The tourism board will conduct another fam this month for 24 members to Velavadar that has the Blackbuck National Park.

The Tamil Nadu government has constituted a 16-member-committee to come up with a revival plan for the tourism sector and suggest COVID-19 SOPs for tourists in the state. Director- Tourism will be the Chairperson of the panel which also includes representatives from TAAI, IATO, TTM, SIHRA, TTTHA, FICCI, CII and South India MICE Association (SIMA).

Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister of State for Culture & Tourism and Manohar Lal Khattar, CM, Haryana held a meeting for the development of tourism related projects in the state and to speed up the ongoing projects in the state. The way forward was discussed with special focus on Development of Rakhigarhi and Kurukshetra and science museums apart from other cultural and tourism hubs development.   Secretary, GoI, Tourism Shri Arvind Singh , joint secretaries of Union Ministries of Tourism and Culture and  other senior officers of Central and State government were also present during the meeting. During the meeting, the state government gave details of the proposed Krishna Circuit Project-II. Development of tourist infrastructure at important tourist/pilgrim places related to SrimadBhagwad Geeta & Mahabharata at Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Karnal, Panipat and Mewat under the Krishna circuit phase-II of Swadesh Darshan Scheme is planned under this project. Apart from this, the two sides discussed Heritage Circuit Rewari, virtual museum at Jyotisar near Kurukshetra and development of Pinjore Gardens, MorniHills , science city among others.The progress of ongoing PRASHAD projects at Nada Sahib Gurudwara and Mata Mansa Devi were also reviewed by ShPrahald Singh Patel and the state government was asked to speed up the completion.

Tourism is in an upswing as Himachal Pradesh has seen 2.57 lakh vehicles entering the state in the last two weeks. On average around 18370 vehicles are entering Himachal Pradesh since the COVID curfew has been lifted on 14th June. 1,31,276 vehicles entered the state between June 13 and June 20 while 1,25,963 vehicles entered between June 20 and June 27. Almost all tourists places in the state are getting a huge influx of visitors.

According to Michael Lobo, Minister in the Goa government, the state will make it mandatory for tourists to be fully vaccinated with both doses and a COVID negative RT-PCR report. “We have to wait till July and let the number of cases go down to zero. We will reopen Goa for tourists with proper screening. Both doses of vaccines and a negative RT-PCR report will be made mandatory for tourists for the first three months after reopening of tourism in the state,” he said.

Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao, Tourism Minister, Andhra Pradesh, has announced to reopen all the prime tourist attractions as the numbers of positive cases have dropped in the country. He also said that they will plan a roadshow across the country to popularise state’s tourist attractions. Also, the tourism department’s Blue Bay hotel at Rushikonda in Visakhapatnam will be developed with INR 164 crore, he shared. Some of the attractions that have opened, include Sri Venkateswara Temple, Tirupati; Rushikonda Beach, Visakhapatnam; Ramakrishna Beach, Visakhapatnam; Undavalli Caves, Amaravati; and Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam.