Category Archives: MOT

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in collaboration with other central ministries, state governments and stakeholders has organised a nationwide celebration of tourism from October 5-25, 2017, called ‘Paryatan Parv’. As a grand finale to the 21-day celebration, a three-day event is being organised at the Rajpath Lawns, New Delhi (between Rafi Marg and Janpath) from the 23rd to 25th October 2017. The event will be open to the public from 12 noon to 10 pm on all three days and will include cultural performances, a crafts bazaar, multi-cuisine food court and other interactive activities to keep visitors engaged at the event venue. The food court will have 50 stalls set up by the states/UTs, each showcasing their distinctive cuisine, the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) with street food from different regions as well as by the Institutes of Hotel Management and ITDC. The crafts mela with 50 stalls will showcase the diverse handicrafts and handlooms of the country, arranged by the state governments and Ministry of Textiles through the Office of the Development Commissioners of Handicrafts and handlooms. There will be 15 Theme State Pavilions where each state will showcase their tourism products and destinations. Cultural performances by troupes from the different states/UTs of the country will be staged from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm on all three days. In addition to the cultural performances by the states/UTs, special cultural events will be staged from 6:00 pm onwards on all three days. These will include ‘Purani Dilli Ki Dastan’ presented by Begum Zakia Zaheer, Syeda Hameed and Rene Singh on 23rd October 2017, “Dhrupad Vocal” by Prashant & Nishant Mallick (Mallick Brothers) on 24th October 2017, …

M. M. Sadana, Dy. Director General, Ministry of Tourism, has been promoted to the post of Joint Director General . He will continue to operate from India Tourism’s Delhi office.

As per latest data released by the Ministry of Tourism, FTAs on e-Tourist Visa during September 2017 was a total of 1.18 lakh tourist as compared to 0.69 lakh during September 2016, registering a growth of 71 per cent. During January-September, 2017, a total of 10.67 lakh tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 6.75 lakh during January-September, 2016, registering a growth of 58 per cent. The percentage shares of top 15 ports in tourist arrivals on e-Tourist Visa during September 2017 were New Delhi Airport (53.4 per cent), Mumbai Airport (18.5 per cent), Chennai Airport (6.7 per cent),  Bengaluru Airport (6.3 per cent), Kochi Airport (4.2 per cent), Hyderabad Airport (2.8 per cent), Kolkata Airport (2.2 per cent), Amritsar Airport (1.1 per cent), Trivandrum Airport (1 per cent), Ahmadabad Airport (0.9 per cent), Tirchy Airport (0.8 per cent),  Dabolim (Goa) Airport (0.6 per cent), Calicut Airport (0.5 per cent),Jaipur Airport (0.4 per cent) and Pune Airport(0.2 per cent).

Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) this September were 7.23 lakh as compared to FTAs of 6.08 lakh in September 2016 and 5.43 lakh in September 2015, according to the latest data released by the Ministry of Tourism. The growth rate in FTAs in September 2017 over September 2016 is 18.8 per cent as compared to 12.1 per cent in September 2016 over September 2015. FTAs during the period January-September 2017 were 71.20 lakh with a growth of 15.5 per cent over the same period of previous year, as compared to the FTAs of 61.63 lakh with a growth of 9.8 per cent in January-September, 2016 over January-September, 2015. The percentage share of FTAs in India during September 2017 among the top 10 source countries was highest from Bangladesh (29.65 per cent) followed by USA (10.24 per cent), UK (7.04 per cent), Sri Lanka (3.98 per cent), Australia (3.50 per cent), Malaysia (3.32 per cent), Germany (2.57 per cent), Japan (2.50 per cent), China (2.46 per cent) and Canada (2.40 per cent).

K.J Alphons, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism along with Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Culture, officially inaugurated the ‘Paryatan Parv’ celebrations at Humayun’s Tomb, New Delhi. A microsite on the project ‘Adopt a Heritage’, www.adoptaheritage.in, was unveiled during the inauguration of the event jointly by the ministers. Speaking on the occasion, Sharma stressed on the close linkage of culture and tourism in the country and how we need to work on making India’s rich cultural heritage as tourism attractions. Alphons in his address highlighted the need to drastically improve the tourist arrivals in the country. He also said that tourism is needed for two reason namely providing employment to the people and to become an engine of growth. The ‘Paryatan Parv’ activities began with the flagging of the cycle rally by Rashimi Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, from India Gate to Qutab Minar on the morning of October 5. Approximately 80 cyclists from across Delhi including members of tourism industry stakeholders, officials from central ministries, doctors, teachers, students participated this rally. The other activities in the capital included a guided Heritage walk at Humayun’s Tomb & painting competition for children etc. Tourism awareness ‘Walk & Run’ were organised in Shillong , Bhubaneswar , Kovalam (Kerala), Hajipur (Bihar), Gurudaspur, Chennai, Guwahati, Mumbai, Ahmedabad , Jaipur, Imphal, Lucknow, Agra, Hyderabad , Gwalior, Bhopal, Panaji (Goa), and Delhi. Hundreds of student from Institute of Hotel Management in these cities and other local stakeholders enthusiastically participated. The various State Tourism Departments also joined the celebrations by organising various events like trekking programme, photography contest, essay competitions, sensitisation program etc. In Guwahati , the students took to rowing in the Brahmaputra …

Alphons Kannanthanam, Minister of State (Independent charge) for Tourism has said that the Ministry of Tourism observed ‘Swachhta Pakhwada’ during September 16 to October 2, 2017, by organising various cleanliness activities/programmes at the premises of its offices/educational institutions/prominent tourist places, etc. All educational institutes under Ministry of Tourism adopt at least one tourist place to maintain cleanliness in a sustainable way. Addressing the media, he said that the Prime Minister called upon the nation to begin a campaign, ‘Swachhata Hi Sewa’, ‘Cleanliness is Service’, from September 15 to October 2, 2017 which coincided with the “Swachhta Pakhwada” of M/o Tourism. Ministry had organised Swachhta Drive at various tourist/pilgrim places all over the country through the its India tourism offices. The campaign had been organised at more than 80 places all over the country during the period which was kick started at Juhu Beach on September 15, 2017. Besides, major clean-up activities, pledge swearing, awareness activities, essay competition, nuked natak etc were organised during the campaign. The Minister said that he himself volunteered various cleanliness activities at India Gate on September 17, 2017, at Janpath Market on the World Tourism Day (September 27, 2017) and at Smith village, Shillong, Meghalaya on  September 30, 2017. Officers of Ministry of Tourism as well as Students from Institutes of Hotel Management (IHM) were also present. The cleanliness activities carried out by the the Minister at various spots drew the attention of visitors as well as shopkeepers/ vendors and conveyed the importance of maintaining the places clean to the public. Minister interacted with the visitors as well as shopkeepers and urged everyone to contribute to make the country clean and beautiful. He also administered the …

Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, flagged off a cycle rally at India Gate, New Delhi as part of the ‘Paryatan Parv’ of the Ministry of Tourism. The rally was organised to create awareness about tourism, environment and sustainability. Around 75 riders participated in the rally. It concluded at Qutub Minar, New Delhi. The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in collaboration with central ministries, state governments and stakeholders is organising this Paryatan Parv across the country from October 5 to 25, 2017. It is being organised with the objective of drawing focus on the benefits of tourism, showcasing the cultural diversity of the country and reinforcing the principle of ‘Tourism for All’.

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India in partnership with other central ministries and state governments is organising ‘Paryatan Parv’ from October 5-25, 2017. Addressing the media regarding the ‘Paryatan Parv’ and the Swachhta initiatives, Alphons Kannanthanam, Minister of State (IC) for Tourism, said that programme is being organised with the objective of drawing focus on the benefits of tourism, showcasing the cultural diversity of the country and reinforcing the principle of ‘Tourism for All’. Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and senior officers were present during the breifing. The Minister announced that the Parv will be inaugurated at the Humayun’s Tomb on 5th October 2017. The formal inauguration of the event will be held at 5:00 PM at the venue which will include a cultural programme. The Paryatan Parv will culminate in a 3 day event in New Delhi from the October 23 to 25, 2017 which will showcase the cultural diversity of the country, with cultural performances, crafts bazaar, food court showcasing folk and classical dance & music, handicrafts & handlooms and cuisine from all regions and States of the country. The “Adopt A Heritage” project launched by the Ministry of Tourism will be implemented at key sites during this period. Wayside Amenities for tourists will also be launched at important sites in identified circuits. Central Ministries have also proactively come forward and will be part of the event. In addition, the mega event will see active participation by Cultural Associations and Organisations, Travel & Hospitality Industry, Institutes of Hotel Management, Indian Institutes of Tourism & Travel Management, Service Providers, Students and Youth and the Local Population

Ministry of Tourism is set to celebrate Tourism Parv from October 5-25, 2017, informed Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Tourism, Government of India. “The Tourism Parv will be celebrated throughout the country with the help of other stakeholders and other ministries including Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Sports & Youth Affairs, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Civil Aviation along with State Governments and industry. We have identified one iconic site in each state, where we will be having plethora of activities centred around that monument or that site and there will be workshops, sensitisation programmes and exhibition of handlooms & handicrafts. There will be a lot of activities and involvement of local people, students and common public. We want to make people understand how tourism can completely change the economy, and thus making them equal stakeholders in promotion of tourism,” she informed.  

Andhra Pradesh was declared the best state for comprehensive development of tourism at National Tourism Awards 2015-2016. Rajasthan emerged as second best while the third prize was shared between Kerala and Goa. Commemorating World Tourism Day, the Ministry of Tourism organised the awards at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, on September 27, 2017. President of India Ram Nath Kovind graced the occasion as Chief Guest and gave away awards in various categories. K.J. Alphons, Minister of State (IC) for Tourism, Government of India, presided over the function. Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma welcomed the dignitaries and guests including Tourism Ministers of States and State Government Officials, members from the travel and hospitality sector, leading hoteliers, travel agents and tour operators. The President launched the ‘Incredible India 2.0 Campaign’; ‘Adopt A Heritage’ Project and new Incredible India Website on the occasion. ‘Incredible India 2.0 Campaign’ marks a shift from the present generic promotions being undertaken across the world, to market specific promotional plans and product specific creatives, with greater focus on digital presence and social media. ‘Adopt A Heritage’ Project plans to entrust heritage sites to the public sector and private sector companies and individuals for the development of tourist amenities. They will become ‘Monument Mitras’ and adopt bthe sites. The ‘Incredible India Website’ is an advanced version of the website with more useful features.