Category Archives: MOT

Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of Civil Aviation, told in Lok Sabha that India has sent a proposal to ten countries, including Saudi Arabia, Australia, and New Zealand, that is still pending. While India already has air bubble agreements with a total of 31 countries. International passenger flights are currently being operated in a restricted manner under bilateral air bubble arrangements with various countries.

G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Tourism, Culture and Development of North Eastern Region – DoNER, distributes loan cheques & sanction letters to registered tour guides and operators in Delhi. During the segment of the event, the representatives from the banks such as Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India & other banks came forward, offering loan schemes on behalf of their banks.

Ministry of Home Affairs has said that they will review the decision on the effective date of resumption of scheduled commercial international flight service amid the fear of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19. MHA, in a high-level review meeting chaired by Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Union Home secretary, has also decided to review the SOPs on testing and surveillance of the arriving international passengers, especially those coming from countries listed in the ‘at risk’ category.

9th International Tourism Mart for the North East Region was held at Kohima, Nagaland recently, where Ajay Bhatt, Minister of State for Tourism & Defence inaugurated the event on Day 1 and addressed at the opening session of Day 2. The event was attended by over 300 delegates including government officials, industry stakeholders and local participants. H Khehovi Yeputhomi, MLA & Advisor Tourism, Government of Nagaland; Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism; Rupinder Brar, ADG Tourism, and other dignitaries of Central government and North Eastern States were also present on the occasion.

According to the third Tourism Satellite Account, tourism sector contributes around 15% in total employment of the country as per 3rd Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) for the years 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20. This will be around 228 million jobs (both direct and indirect) due to tourism. This information was given by Minister of Tourism Shri G. Kishan Reddy in reply to a question in Lok Sabha.

G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism, Culture and DoNER, has said that MOT started the destination-based skill development training programme at 7 iconic sites in FY 2019-20 to train, upgrade and sensitise the local people residing near the tourism sites and destinations. This programme continued in Financial Year (FY) 2020-21 and upscaled to more than 150 new destinations. However, due to COVID-19 pandemic, this programme took place at 44 destinations. This programme is continued during the current FY 2021-22 and has taken place at 24 destinations.v

Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Tourism, Culture and DoNER, reviewed the various tourism projects funded by the Government of India in Visakhapatnam recently. “We will develop the beautiful coastal city of Vizag not just as a world tourist destination but also as a centre of trade & commerce,” he said. He also assured all stakeholders that the Government will revive the industry and support the development of the tourism infrastructure.

At the ongoing India international trade fair, Satpal Maharaj launched ‘Uttarakhand Day.’ “Uttarakhand‘s cultural heritage is gaining popularity at the trade show. The enthusiasm of the public suggests that the people adore Uttarakhand‘s products.” “The State Government is determined to stimulate investment and create jobs in the State. In the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ program, the state is among the top industrial states of the country,” he remarked.

IATO recently orgainsed a members meet where Hareet Shukla, Secretary Tourism, Govt. of Gujarat said, Gujarat has a progressive tourism policy. They have come up with various policies on heritage, adventure sports, homestays and are going to launch cinematic tourism policy soon. Through these policies the government of Gujarat aims to promote various sectors of the economy. The details of the upcoming 36th IATO Annual Convention from 16th – 19th December 2021 at Gandhinagar was also discussed. 

After the tourism & culture ministers’ conference of southern region and the ITM in Nagaland, Ministry of Tourism is planning a meeting with the tourism ministers of all the states, reveals Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism. “Once the situation normalises, we can plan a meeting of all tourism ministers in the country,” he adds.