Category Archives: MOT

Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism, has said that we should use G20 Presidency to project the strong cases of our nation and showcase the country to the global leaders. “If we are successful in doing that, I am sure it would take our tourism sector to the next level.”

Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa, has said that Tourism is not about government. Every single player is from private sector, including tour operators, taxi drivers and resorts. “Government must assist, facilitate, and act as a catalyst to ensure that the private sector is able to put up good facilities at destinations,” he said.

Rakesh Verma, Additional Secretary, Tourism, has said that the Nidhi 2.0 platform is now maturing. “We have now tested it with almost all state governments and about 20 state governments have now been brought on that platform.”

Sharing his observations and concerns over the star categorisation criteria for hotels in India, G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for tourism, culture & DoNER, said, “The current categorisation system doesn’t really differentiate between a 100+ room hotel and a 10-20 room hotel. It ruins the whole India experience for a traveller.” He also said that he’s in talk with the government to change criteria for hotel classifications.

Ajay Bhat, Minister of State for Tourism and Defence, speaking at the National Tourism Awards ceremony in Delhi, said that the government’s vision is to increase the GDP contribution of the tourism sector in the economy of the country.

In response to hotel industry’s demand for amendment in the definition of infrastructure status, Arvind Singh, Secretary, MOT said, “We are looking at changing the definition of infrastructure status for hotels to help the industry attract investment. It has the attention of the higher authorities and we will have an order on it shortly.  It is currently as per 2011 census and needs to change to accommodate the demands of hospitality business today.”

Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Arvind Singh while presenting the welcome address said that Indian Tourism sector has emerged as one of the key drivers of growth for Indian economy. He also shared that India plans to position itself as a major tourism destination during its presidency of G20 for 2023-2024, where it wants to position itself as a must-visit destination at the global level.

Minister of Tourism, Culture & DoNER, G. Kishan Reddy Ji said that India’s tourism sector is recovering well with strong contribution from domestic travel. He shared that the various schemes like Swadesh Darshan and PRASHAD scheme initiated by PM Narendra Modi Ji has helped in holistic development of the tourism sector. He also mentioned that the National Tourism Awards have over the years emerged as a prestigious recognition of achievements in the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors, that has helped motivate the stakeholders involved here.

As per the India Tourism Statistics 2022 released today, UAE was the top source nation for Indian Nationals’ Departures (INDs) in 2021, followed by the USA, Qatar, Oman, the United Kingdom, the Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Bahrain, and Kuwait. In 2021, the Top 10 nations accounted for around 85.93% of all INDs. In comparison to 2020, there was an increase in INDs from India. In 2021, 8.55 million Indian nationals departed from the country, up from 7.29 million in 2020, a 17.30% increase. The number of Indian citizens leaving after 2019 has dramatically dropped as a result of the pandemic. INDs frequently travel by air, which is also the most common method.

To support Unique Tourism Projects under Maharashtra Tourism Policy 2016, DoT signed an MoU with Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) with a desire to light up (sound and light show) the Gateway of India, thus making it a destination to further attract tourists. The IOCL will finance the project through the CSR funds and facilitate the operation of sound & light show through its technical expertise. Similarly, another MoU was signed with Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) to begin the concept of Mining Tourism in Maharashtra to explore the state’s mineral treasure. Tourists will get to experience mine tourism at Saoner (UG) and Adasa (OC) in Nagpur Area, Niljai (OC) Wani Area and Bhatadi (OC) in Chandrapur Area.