G. Kishan Reddy, Minister of Tourism, said, “Without connectivity, there cannot be any investment or development, which is why connectivity is the key to the country’s growth. India is the only nation that builds 30 km of national highway every day, thus creating continuous connectivity.”  

Sultanate of Oman, a country on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. Formerly a marine empire, it is the oldest independent state in the Arab world. Oman fuses historic Middle East creating an unforgettable holiday destination. Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman is hosting 2023 IRONMAN 70.3 Oman Muscat (qualifying slots) for the 45 Age Group Qualifying slots for the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship that will take place in Lahti, Finland which will be held from 26-27 August 2023. The distance of the triathlon will test the mental and physical fitness of the athletes. The qualifying slots for the championship will be held in the scenic Shatti Al Qurum in Oman. Registration for the race is open for the interested athletes. Interested athletes must register on or before 14 December 2022 to take advantage of the triathlon benefits, including fee-free transfers and partial refund. This benefit is applicable to the qualifying race of the world triathlon championship. The 2023 IRONMAN 70.3 Oman, Muscat start on 4 February 2023 in front of the InterContinental Muscat in Shatti Al Qurum with a one-loop 1.9 km (1.2 mile) Swim Route in the Sea of Oman. Following the swim, the athletes will take part in the 90-km (56 miles) Bike Route. They will head off to the scenic Port Sultan Qaboos and Muttrah Corniche, and Muscat Old Town with its exquisite Arabian-style architecture and Al Alam Royal Palace. It will take the athletes through the rolling hills of Muscat’s Al Bustan area, before heading into the city’s central business district, and ascends/descends into the town of Al Amarat. After a final climb out of Al Amarat, …

E.M. Najeeb, Senior Vice President, IATO said, “the budget allocation is tourism must increase. Most of the states are increasing their budget allocation in tourism and the central government should also increase their allocation to three times or four times in the tourism segment.” 

Egypt’s Deputy Minister of Finance for Economic Affairs Sherine ElSharkawy said, “India is an interesting destination both for tourism because of the different cultures and also for investment. There is a lot of business, there is a lot of opportunities, especially in the IT sector”. 

Ravi Gosain, Vice President, IATO said, “Inbound tourism has a lot of scope, it’s a value product compared to the domestic. It is very important to grow inbound parallelly to domestic tourism. The government should provide financial incentive and some facilitation in policies to help tourism industry grow.” 

Arvind Singh, Secretary, MoT said that the government wants to focus on green growth, sustainable development, and penetration of digital initiatives in tourism. “Our penetration in tourism is not so much and that is one of the areas where we rank low in our global rankings”, he said. 

The Adventure Tour Operators Association of India has always believed in promoting adventure tourism in a safe and sustainable manner and aims to create this awareness and mitigate risk in adventure tourism activities. ATOAI is delighted to announce that the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is organizing a Disaster Management Course for ATOAI Adventure Guides. 40 adventure guides with a minimum experience of 5 years will be trained by NDRF from 30th January 2022 to 4th February 2023 at 8 Battalion, NDRF, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.   The Adventure guides will be trained on: Disaster Management Search & Rescue First Aid & CPR. Fire Safety Water Emergencies Snake & Animal Bite Group Exercise / Leadership Miscellaneous & General Topics This course will be a force multiplier in providing rescue and support during natural disasters in our country and will also up skill adventure professionals / guides in providing safer adventure experiences to adventure tourists. ATOAI believes that such initiatives will go a long way in bringing India on top of the preferred adventure tourism destinations in the world. Adventure guides doing the program will also be made honorary wardens for keeping ‘the great outdoors’ pristine and ensure that the ATOAI safety guidelines are followed in letter and spirit.

This year, approximately 19000 foreign tourists visited Kashmir out of over 22 lakh tourists. Tourism Director Fazal Al-Huseeb said that hotels were fully booked by tourists at tourist spots in Kashmir including Gulmarg during New Year. “We expect record tourist arrivals in 2023,” he said.  

Runeep Sangha, Executive Director, PATA India Chapter said, “It’s time we have a separate strategy for India as a long-haul destination because people coming from the Americas, Canada, Europe, etc are the markets from our travelers spend the most money and if we put together and showcase India as a long-haul destination, we should report benefits.” 

Tourism Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah highlighted that with the industry status, fresh investments in tourism infrastructures will contribute towards rapid employment generation, public-private partnership and infrastructure development. This move will further encourage and boost private investment in the above areas of the tourism sector.