Category Archives: MOT

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Tuesday said check-in counters left unmanned by airlines were leading to congestion at major airports in the country. ‘Airlines are therefore advised to deploy sufficient manpower at all check-in/baggage drop counters well in advance to ensure decongestion and smooth flow of passengers at airports,” the MoCA’s said in the letter. A surge in air travel – airports have seen over 400,000 domestic flyers a day for 10 consecutive days – has strained the infrastructure at the country’s busiest airports such as Delhi and Mumbai and forced the MoCA to order a reduction and shifting of peak-hour flights. “It has come to the notice of the MoCA that the airline check-in counters at certain airports are found unmanned or inadequately manned during early morning hours leading to congestion at the airports, thereby causing inconvenience to the passengers,’ MoCA’s letter stated, requesting airlines to place real-time data on their social media feeds regarding waiting time at respective airports’ entry gates.

Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister for AYUSH, has said that the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi, will add value to Goa’s tourism brand and be a big boost for medical value travel. “It will also be a model research & wellness hub for Ayurveda promoting medical tourism,” he added.

G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism, has shared that they have set up a 24×7 Multi-Lingual Tourist Info-Helpline on the toll free number 1800111363 or on a short code 1363 in 12 Languages including 10 international languages (German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic), Hindi English for domestic and foreign tourists to provide support service in term of information relating to Travel in India and to offer appropriate guidance to tourists in distress while travelling in India.

Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism has shared that sustainability commitment needs to come in mainstream in tourism, especially with G20. “There are four tourism track meetings slated to be held during G-20.  It is the ideal time that India should take the leadership position in responsible tourism,” he said.

Informing about the goals for the India tourism sector for 2024, Arvind Singh, Union Tourism Secretary has said, “We will strive to recover to pre-pandemic level by mid-2024. The country is estimated to achieve US$ 50 billion GDP contribution from tourism, US$30 billion in Foreign Exchange Earnings and 15 million foreign tourist arrivals by 2024.”

Vikram Doraiswami, High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom, has just confirmed that the e-visa facility will again be available for UK nationals travelling to India. He said, “The big news today is we are rolling out e-visas once again. This servie will be made available to you forthwith. System upgrade is underway and the visa website will soon be ready to receive applications from friends in the UK.”  

G Kishan Reddy, Union Tourism Minister, distributed skill training certificate to taxi/ cab/ coach drivers under Tourism Awareness Programme, where he said, “This training programme before the G-20 summit will act as a milestone in the development of Indian tourism.”

Ministry of Tourism has written to all the travel, tourism and hospitality associations, urging them to use both the logo and the theme of the G-20 extensively by all Stakeholders of Travel Trade & Hospitality sector. “These will be used both to familiarise audience about the relevance of the G20 as well as to disseminate messaging and outcomes from the G20 as widely as possible,” stated the letter.

Sharing that MICE sector will be a key focus in the days to come for the MOT, G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister- Tourism, Culture & DoNER, said, “India will also hold an investors’ conclave in 2023 to promote global investments and MICE tourism.”

Arvind Singh, Secretary, MoT said, ‘Everybody wants to mainstream sustainability in all aspects of life, including tourism and highlighted the fact that with G20 around the corner it is important to step up our commitment towards it. He also informed that there are four tourism track meetings slated to be held during G-20. “It is the ideal time that India should take the leadership position in responsible tourism”, he added.