Category Archives: MOT

Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism, has said that the tourism minister will be starting series of next round of discussions to further discuss the preparedness to deal with COVID-199 from 10th August. There will be layers of discussions with a common goal for the ministry and the stakeholders to work together, she said.

Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel has virtually inaugurated the “Thenzawl Golf Resort” Project implemented under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme in the presence of Tourism Minister of Mizoram, Robert RomawiaRoyte and other officials. The competitive advantage of Thenzawl Golf Course with 30 Eco-log huts is that it will provide quality golfing experience and international facilities at a fair price.

Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism, has said that there is a great opportunity to boost domestic tourism or regional tourism by creating synergy between neighbouring states, since most of the people today feel safer while opting for self-drive holidays instead of travelling by air or train. She also said that safety and hygiene will be priorities for tourists because they will travel to destinations only if they are assured that the place they are visiting, eating at and staying in is safe.

Since different states in the country have different SOPS, guidelines and quarantine rules, there is a need for uniformity and common protocols across the country, so that people don’t have a fear in travelling, says Meenakshi Sharma, Director General, Tourism. “We need to start working towards making the state governments agree to it. If we start now, may be in 2-3 weeks’ time, we can have some consensus, and even ICMR and Ministry of Health might come up with suggestions on the request of MOT and the industry.”

Meenakshi Sharma, DG, Ministry of Tourism, has said that they are in the process of making some changes in the new tourism policy, making responsible tourism as its foundation. She added that responsible tourism cannot be discussed as a separate entity; it should be a part of everything we do going forward. “We will add more elements to responsible tourism as we move forward. One will be health and hygiene. It’s also about developing new practices and behaviour of the tourist as a responsible visitor. It cannot be the responsibility of only the service provider, but also the one receiving the services. Honestly, we had not put our minds into this aspect as much as we should have earlier. It will be our priority now,” she said.

Venkatesan Dhattareyan, Regional Director (West & Central India), Indiatourism Mumbai, Ministry of Tourism, said, “By enrolling in our ‘MoT Recognized Service Provider’ programme, agents can use the Market Development Assistance (MDA) which includes financial support. MDA for domestic tourism was earlier Rs 30,000 which will be enhanced keeping the pandemic in mind. MoT is also working on relaxing certain requirements for this programme.

Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has decided that provisional certificates can be issued in favour of all categories of Tour Operators (Inbound, Domestic, Adventure) / Travel Agencies / Tourist Transport Operators who have submitted fresh applications, complete in all respects and have also made the required payment for grant of recognition as a new case. This has been done at this time, when physical inspection of office premises of applicants is not being undertaken by the Inspection Committee headed by the Regional Director, India tourism Offices in India. The Provisional Certificate would be valid for a period of six months from the date of submission of complete fresh application or till the time of actual physical verification / inspection and subsequent final decision of the Ministry with reference to grant of recognition, whichever is earlier. However, such Tour Operators/ Travel Agencies / Tourist Transport Operators who are issued  Provisional Certificates, shall not be eligible for any financial benefits under MDA or any other scheme of the Ministry, till such time a final decision regarding grant of  recognition is taken by the Ministry.

The Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA) will conduct an exclusive webinar on July 24 with the Regional Ministry of Tourism Office to demonstrate to its members how they can get a ‘Ministry of Tourism Recognized Service Provider’ stamp. Presentation will be done by Venkatesan Dhattareyan, Regional Director (West & Central India), Indiatourism Mumbai, Ministry of Tourism.

Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism & Culture, along with Chief Minister of Gujarat Sh. Vijaybhai Rupanion, joined the inauguration of project ‘Development of Pilgrimage Amenities at Somnath, Gujarat’ under the PRASHAD scheme. Sanctioned under the PRASHAD scheme in March 2017, the project has been successfully completed with the cost of Rs. 45.36 crores. High quality world-class facilities for parking, tourism amenities centre and solid waste management have been developed under the project.

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C), Tourism & Culture, has said that in order to improve the number of Buddhist tourists coming to India, we should fill the deficiencies and make travel easier for them. Addressing a webinar by Association of Buddhist Tour Operators (ABTO), he said that we need to remove the obstacles for Buddhist tourists from coming to India and improve the numbers.