Category Archives: MOT

The Ministry of Tourism, in coordination with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), organised a national conference of DGs/inspector generals of the police departments of all states and UTs to discuss implementation of Uniform Tourist Police Scheme. Objective of the national conference was to bring the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Home Affairs, BPR&D and state governments and UT administration on the same platform, so that they may work together in close coordination with the state and UT police departments and sensitise them about specific requirements of foreign and domestic tourists.

Ministry is employing locally trained professionals at tourist sites, providing employment to locals there near their homes. “Employment generation in the tourism sector is one of the key agendas of our ministry.” said Secretary Tourism Arvind Singh. 

Vice President Jagdeep Dankhar described India as a ” heaven for tourism ” and urged Indians to explore domestic tourist destinations first before embarking on international travel. Referring to the long history of civilisation and rich cultural heritage of Bharat, he emphasized that most of the tourist attractions of the country have a deep connect with our history, folk arts and ancient texts. 

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.