Category Archives: MOT

G Kamala Vardhan Rao has been given additional charge of the post of Director General (Tourism), Ministry of Tourism. He would remain as the Chairman & Managing Director, India Tourism Development Corporation Ltd. till appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders, whichever is earlier. The announcement was made by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

Tourism ADG Rupinder Brar has announced that the country will have a uniform national travel guidelines soon, stating that demand for balancing internal travel has been raised by private industry stakeholders. “The Ministry is working on this and directions will be given to states in this regard. The Ministry is also in dialogue with Ministry of Health and is working on systems that can assure safety to reopen destinations for international travel.”

Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy has said that the sector has always been a strong driver for economic growth in the country and has one of the highest job creating potentials. “In 2019, the industry contributed US$194 billion to the Indian economy. For a Rs10 lakh investment, tourism can provide 78 jobs, as compared to 45 jobs in the manufacturing sector,” he added.

Indiatourism Hyderabad organised a ‘Walk and Cycle Rally’ to create awareness on ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. The event saw enthusiastic participation, and about 100 students of University College of Women, Koti, participated in the rally. At the culmination of the event, everyone got together and sang the national anthem. Government of India is commemorating 75 years of India’s independence, which falls on 15th August 2022, at national and international levels in the form of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Rupinder Brar, ADG, Ministry of Tourism, has revealed that they are developing a narrative with carbon free or relatively less carbon footprint-based tourism. She added, “Ladakh would be the first state, for which we are writing a vision document.” The MOT will be soon having an event in Ladakh for the same.

Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, has said that he hopes that other states follow Maharashtra in doing away with RTPCR test for fully vaccinated travellers. He revealed that in a meeting with associations and state tourism boards, it was agreed upon that the states will work towards having uniform protocols in the entire country.

G Kishan Reddy, Cabinet Minister, Tourism & Culture, has said that the centre, the state, industry and the private stakeholders need to jointly identify the priority areas, so that the revival of tourism, is focused on a sustainability and responsible travelling. “To achieve true potential of tourism, the fundamental requirement is to ensure coordination at every level of activity. We need to have a proactive approach from every stakeholder, be it centre, state, industry or private players,” he added.

Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy has said that 31 MSME units were sanctioned Rs234.7 crore during 2021 by way of sanctioned Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) to MSME by Tourism Finance Corporation India (TFCI) under Atmanirbhar Bharat package announced on May 13 this year. Apart from that, loan of Rs1541.65 crore was also sanctioned to 47 borrowers by TFCI during 2018-19 to 2019-20, he said.

The Centre has asked states to vaccinate its tour operators, hotel employees, drivers and other industry stakeholders on priority to bring back confidence in the sector. Tourism Secretary Arvind Singh said, “We have taken it up with state governments that vaccination of all tourism stakeholders should be done on priority so that we gain a sense of confidence.”

In response to a key demand of the hospitality industry, the Ministry of Tourism has initiated a proposal for inclusion of tourism in the Concurrent List of the Constitution. This step could bring a coordinated approach from the Centre and the states in this sector, especially after the impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The Ministry of Tourism has taken up the issue of inclusion of tourism in the Concurrent List with the concerned Ministry, so that tourism can be placed on the national agenda,” the Ministry has said in a reply to a Parliamentary Standing Committee whose report was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.