Tag Archives: MoT

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) will be organising Bharat Parv from January 26-31, 2020. Now, an annual affair, the ‘Parv’ will showcase the cuisine and culture of different states of India. Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General (ADG), Tourism, said, “We are extremely excited about the upcoming Bharat Parv. The event gets a lot of footfall and attraction from people across the country. We are looking forward to an exuberant response this year, just like the previous ones and we are prepared to showcase the food, arts, culture and also the tableaus that will come from the Republic Day parade.”  

The Incredible India Tourist Facilitator Certification (IITFC), which was rolled out on January 1, 2020, already has 3200 enrolments, reveals Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General (ADG), Ministry of Tourism (MOT), Government of India. She said, “The programme started off really well and there has already been a growing interest of people in joining the programme. Currently, there are about 3200 people who have enrolled for the programme.”

India’s tourism sector is adopting a new digital and social media strategy to increase the flow of visitors from the East Asian markets, with a focus on China’s millennial, said, Rupinder Brar, ADG, MOT, post Incredible India roadshow in Singapore. She adds, “The feedback from Chinese millennials has helped understand their travelling needs. With such feedback, tour operators have been urged to plan tour products that offer more than the clichés.”

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of Tourism, Government of India, unveiled ‘Indian Culture’- an interactive web portal for digital preservation of cultural artifacts of India. Patel said that this portal will be a one-stop-shop for all the information along with pictures related to rare images of monuments, detailed accounts of Indian UNESCO World Heritage Sites, rare books, paintings, cuisines and research papers. The platform is live now on www.indianculture.gov.in and hosts data of cultural relevance from various repositories and institutions all over India. The portal was envisioned by Ministry of Culture in 2016 and IIT Bombay built the resources of the portal from scratch. Apart from the content hosted on the portal, one can also browse content available on the website of Ministry of Culture organisations.  

Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in September 2019 were 7,50,514 as compared to 7,19,845 in September 2018, registering a growth of 4.3%, according to statistics revealed by Ministry of Tourism (MOT). The FTAs during the period January- September 2019 were 76,33,454 as compared to 74,63,664 in January- September 2018 registering a growth of 2.3%. The percentage share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India during September, 2019 among the top 15 source countries was highest from Bangladesh (27.86%) followed by United States (10.50%), UK (6.64%), Sri Lanka (4.18%), China (4.13%), Australia (3.45%), Malaysia (3.39%), Japan (2.65), Germany (2.34%), Canada (2.30%), Singapore (1.94%), France (1.84%), Nepal (1.81%), Korea (Rep.) (1.38%) and Afghanistan (1.29%).

During the month of August 2019, a total of 1,66,424 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa, as compared to 1,50,457 during the month of August, 2018, registering a growth of 10.6%, according to statistics released by Ministry of Tourism (MOT). During January- August 2019, a total of 17,00,717 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 14,18,534 during January-August 2018, registering a growth of 19.9%.

Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has identified Rural circuit as one of the thematic circuits for infrastructure development, with an objective to develop basic infrastructure for showcasing rural sites and culture of the country to tourists, revealed Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel at the Lok Sabha. He shared that MOT will enhance public infrastructure like tourist parks and tourism clusters in 15 identified circuits across the country. The minister highlighted that the initiative was taken under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme. “Under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, Integrated Development of Theme Based Tourist Circuits is developing tourism infrastructure in 15 identified circuits, across the country, having tourist potential in a planned and prioritised manner,” he said.

A recent whitepaper titled ‘Indian Tourism Infrastructure- Investment Opportunities & Challenges’ released by FICCI, reveals that employment generated through in 2017-18 was 81.1 million, which was almost 5 million more than what it was in 2016-17 (75.90 million). In 2015-16 employment created by tourism was 72.3 million, which was 69.5 million and 67.2 million in 2014-15 and 2013-14 respectively. The reports used data released by Ministry of Tourism (MOT), which was based on Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), which comprises of a set of 10 standard tables which are key to estimating the economic contribution of tourism in the economy. According to 3rd TSA, the share in employment generated by tourism increased from 12.19 in 2016-17 to 12.38 in 2017-18.

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) in association with Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) organised a touring session to four new museums at Red Fort Complex, Delhi for major tour operators and industry association members in order to give a wide publicity to these museums and discuss ways to make Red Fort a two-day destination. Satyajeet Rajan, Director General, MOT said that around 20 tour operators and other stakeholders, who specialise in promoting tourism in Delhi took the tour, which aims at educating the masses about the rich history and culture of the country. Situated in four barracks of Red Fort, the museum at Barrack 1 is all about First War of Indian Independence 1857 while the other museum at Barrack 2 contains specimens and information on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. A third museum at Barrack 3 covers history and life of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the INA movement, while Barrack 4 is a collaboration with ASI Delhi Art Gallery on contemporary paintings. The entire complex of museums will be known as ‘Kranti Mandir’ as a tribute to the revolutionary zeal and courage of the freedom fighters.  

Being in the forefront for promoting India as a preferred MiCE destination for years, ICPB has now requested the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) to declare 2019 as ‘The Year of MiCE.’ Chander Mansharamani, Vice Chairman, ICPB, informs, “We have recommended to Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, to declare 2019 as ‘The Year of MiCE’, which will certainly give us an opportunity to organise a number of activities in collaboration with all stakeholders throughout the year to propagate the importance of MiCE and its economic and social impact, and also undertake various marketing activities to promote India as a preferred convention destination.” On the year gone by, he added, “The year 2018 has been very fruitful and full of activities. We conducted training programmes and a successful international road show in Europe, 11th Convention India Conclave in Kolkata. We also participated at various international trade shows. “There has also been a substantial increase in our membership in the last one year, also the one-time membership of eight State Government’s, has not only given us the financial benefits, but also has enhanced the status of ICPB. Now, we can truly call ourselves a pan-India bureau.” Regarding plans in the pipeline, he said, “We are planning two international residential training programmes with ICCA and IAPCO, apart from regular training programmes. We will be holding  the12th Convention India Conclave in Kochi for which we have initiated the process with Kerala Government. We hope to open  new ICPB State Chapters in two more states. We will be conducting road shows in India as well as international road shows in the UK and Europe. We will also aim for a greater participation of ICPB in …