Category Archives: MOT

Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism revealed that to fund the various schemes implemented by MoT during FY2021-22, the Ministry of Finance has earmarked Rs. 2026.77 cr in the Union Budget 2021-22, which is 61% higher than the revised estimates of 2020-21. He added out of this, Rs 950 cr will be used for tourism infrastructure and Rs 670 cr on promotional activities. The rest of the allocation would be used for funding other schemes like capacity building for service providers, champion service sector scheme etc and to meet the establishment expenditure of the Ministry.

Sharing updates on the tourism highlights in the Union Budget 2021-22, Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism, revealed that developing expressways will offer better connectivity to tourist sites and in turn will contribute to the development of the tourism sector. He added that construction of the 3500km highway will start in Tamil Nadu next year, which will include Madurai-Kollam Corridor and Chittoor-Thatchur Corridor. He highlighted that AAI Airports in tier-II and III cities, NHAI toll roads, and railway infrastructure will also strengthen the tourism might of the country. The new aesthetically-designed Vistadome LHB coach on tourist routes will give a better travel experience to passengers. Singh also highlighted various initiatives to maintain health and hygiene in the country mentioned in the Budget, including vaccination drives, Urban Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0, and opening of wellness centres in urban as well as rural areas.

Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply to a query in Lok Sabha said that no plan for setting up a vaccine certification programme for foreign tourists has been announced yet by the Government or the Ministry of Tourism. In response to another query, the minister asserted that no MOT project or scheme has been deferred or stalled due to COVID-19.

Just like international marketing campaigns, domestic marketing campaigns of MOT will be specific to every region across the country. Rupinder Brar, ADG, MOT, says, “What is of interest to a 20-year-old or someone older can be different, hence, even for travelling within India, the basic principles of marketing and promotion will be followed by us.”

Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel, in a written reply to a query raised in the Rajya Sabha, said that MOT spent more than Rs124 crore in the last three years on media campaigns for tourism promotion in the country. Between 2017 and 2020, campaigns in the print media, television, online, radio, theatres and via SMS were run.

Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply to a query in Rajya Sabha said that the government is not considering any proposal to provide a special incentive to the tourism sector to overcome COVID impact. When asked about details for planning such an incentive, the minister said, ‘does not arise’ to the query.

The Ministry of Tourism is giving financial assistance to MOT and UT Tourism department approved tourism service providers in J&K and Ladakh for undertaking promotional activities including participation in international and domestic travel marts/fairs/exhibitions/road shows and undertaking online promotion/sales tours overseas to give boost to the tourism sector in the region, said Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel.

The outlay for Annual Budget 2021-22 of Ministry of Culture is Rs 2,687.99 Crore as against the outlay (Rs 2,211.85 Crore) approved for the revised Budget Plan 2020-21. The annual outlay in FY 2021-22 is 21.53% higher than the revised annual outlay in FY 2020-21. Rs 1,042.62 Crore has been allocated to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply to a query in Rajya Sabha said that the central government has initiated a study to quantify the quantum of loss suffered by the tourism sector due to the COVID pandemic. He also said that the record of the revenue generated through tourism was not maintained by the Ministry of Tourism.

Ministry of Tourism has no plans to approach the GST Council for reducing GST on all hotel rooms to 12%, Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said. “MOT is aware of taxes levied on tourism products, including hotels, as the same directly impacts country’s tourism competitiveness vis-a-vis other countries but presently, MOT has no plans to approach GST council,” he said.