Category Archives: MOT

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is the new Union Minister for Tourism & Culture. Suresh Gopi, first BJP MP from Kerala, is the new Minister of State of Tourism. Hailing from Rajasthan, Shekhawat was earlier serving as Union Cabinet Minister in Ministry of Jal Shakti. He is a member of parliament from the Bharatiya Janata Party representing Jodhpur in the Lok Sabha

Commenting on the Ministry of Tourism’s ‘Coolcation’ campaign, challenging the notion of India being too hot for summer travel. Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, said that the issue lacks publicity abroad. It (publicity) needs to be increased (abroad) to highlight the places in India where people can visit during this period,” he said.

Forward ticket data for July and August 2024 indicates that European travellers are increasingly choosing to venture further afield to explore New Delhi with an 9 per cent increase compared to the same time in 2023. Highlighted by ForwardKeys, outbound travel from Europe is displaying clear trends, with year-on-year growth in long-haul travel to a diverse range of Asian markets.

In a bid to attract foreign tourists to India during summer, MOT has come up with a campaign to develop destinations that have good weather during this time. Manisha Saxena, DG, MOT, says, “The idea is to dispel the notion that India is too hot in summers, and attract tourists from warmer countries like Middle East, South East Asia and African countries. We hve picked over 50 destinations to actively promote them as tourist attractions.” Efforts are on to develop places like Bir Billing, Kinnaur, Dalhousie and Tirthan in HP, Patnitop in Jammu & Kashmir, Auli in Uttarakhand, Wayanad in Kerala, Thenzawl in Mizoram and Kurseong in West Bengal.

The 2024 edition of the Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) released by World Economic Forum states that India has climbed to the 39th position, while US topped the list. India also ranks the highest in South Asia among the lower-middle-income economies. Earlier, India was ranked 54th in 2021 published index. Covering 119 economies, the TTDI measures the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable and resilient development of the sector, which in turn contributes to the development of a country.

As Europe’s summer approaches, travel insights from digital travel platform Agoda reveal that Asia is a top choice for European globetrotters. Asia not only ranks as the most popular non-European region, but its popularity is increasing compared to last year, with Agoda noting 52% more accommodation searches by Europeans for travel to Asia, and 26% more accommodation searches for travel to India.

In order to make India’s tourism offerings more attractive and accessible throughout the year, Manisha Saxena, DG, MOT, GoI, highlighted the ‘Coolcation,’ campaign, aimed at showcasing country’s cooler regions and diversifying the tourist experience beyond the conventional peak seasons,  while challenging misconceptions about India’s climate.

Indian Ministry of Tourism showcases its strength at ATM 2024 with a strong delegation led by Gyan Bhushan, Senior Economic Advisor, MOT and Arun Srivastava, Joint Director, General, MOT. It also launched a campaign to promote India as a holistic destination. More than 55 participants from India including State Tourism, IRCTC, tour operators, hotels, airlines etc are participating in the show.

NS Rathor, Chairman, IATO Western Region, says, “We are facing a lot of problems with the cruise guide rates. We have a lot of international cruise liners coming into Mumbai. For cruise passengers we have to negotiate rates locally with Tourist Guides Association (TOGA). They are asking us to pay 15-20% more than the current rate negotiated with TGFI! We have not yet agreed on that. We have offered them 10%. We will discuss this issue with our members and offer TOGA this rate. We hope they will agree with this.”

Dr Sagnik Chowdhury, Deputy Director General & Regional Director (West & Central), Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India, along with his team made a detailed presentation to members of TAAI Western India in Mumbai on the merits of being an MoT-accredited travel agent and the approval process. Underlining some tweaks in the categories, his team also fielded some questions and challenges from the members. He said, “We also highlighted our certification programme which will go a long way in empowering their staff towards a more solid career in tourism.”