Category Archives: MOT

G Kishan Reddy, Union Tourism Minister, has said that Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of DoNER and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways is developing 100 view-points in North East region. “22 view-points have been taken up for development at a cost of ₹49 crores. In Mizoram 9 viewpoints have been taken up for development at the cost of 12.78 crores,” he added.

Rakesh Verma, Additional Secretary, Tourism, has shared that the National Tourism Board of India (NTBI) will have a separate M!CE Vertical plus dedicated M!CE promotion for India. “A dedicated funding of ₹50 crore has been proposed for M!CE vertical, which should go into incentivising organisations and associations for getting events in India,” he said.

Rakesh Verma, Additional Secretary, Tourism, while addressing the press at the WTM London, stated that India has achieved phenomenal growth in enhancing infrastructure, which along with massive vaccination drive, will help India to achieve pre-pandemic levels of international tourist arrivals. It also offers huge opportunities for investors and an Investor Summit will be organised by the MOT in February 2023.

With India assuming the G20 Presidency from December 1, the MoT delegation launched ‘Visit India 2023’ at WTM to invite more tourists to the country. Rakesh Verma, Additional Secretary, MoT, stated that India has achieved phenomenal growth in enhancing infrastructure, along with the massive vaccination drive. It will help India achieve pre-pandemic levels of international tourist arrivals. It also offers huge opportunities for investors and an Investor Summit will be organized by the Ministry in February 2023.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged citizens to visit Nadabet and other border areas as part of Seema darshan to further tourism. “Seema Darshan Project adds a new dimension to the tourism sector. It gives the opportunity to appreciate the resilience of those who live on the borders,” he said.

Rakesh Verma, Additional Secretary, Tourism, has said that the National Tourism Board of India will have four representatives from key ministries–Culture, Civil Aviation, External Affairs and Commerce. “Similarly, from the industry, four professionals from different verticals will be nominated on the board,” he added.

Venkatesan Dhattareyan, Regional Director, India Tourism (Western and Central Region), has been promoting MoT’s scheme that the trade associations can avail for their own MICE requirements. “We want the national trade associations to have their major flagship events within India rather than take it outside the country. In fact, the MoT has a scheme which supports the activities of national trade associations of both travel and hospitality industries – where the government provides financial support for organising their annual conventions, etc. the quantum of support depends on the size of the membership, etc. these details are available on the MoT website and various associations are benefited from this scheme,” he says.

Speaking at the 94th Edition of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighted the importance of various festivals, celebrations and sports like Chhath, National Unity Day, Janjatiya Gaurav Divas , Gurupurab, Navratri and National Games in uniting people and bringing out the spirit of Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat. He said, “The way art, sports and culture came together during the National Games in Ahmedabad, it filled all with joy. They also shared a lot of pictures of Gujarati food and Navratri on social media. After all, through games like these, one comes to know about the diverse cultures of India.”    

Gyan Bhushan, Economic Advisor, Ministry of Tourism, said that about Rs 2600 crore is the total value of output of homestays in India. “One can imagine the kind of jobs that are created in homestays, which is one of our objectives to promote homestays.   

Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism, has said that India’s global tourism indices will go up by improving the safety and security aspects of tourism and would go a long way in making India one of the favourable destinations. He urged all the tourism stakeholders to work closely and strengthen the security aspect of the tourist destinations.