Category Archives: MOT

The venue for the upcoming India Tourism Mart (ITM), scheduled to take place from September 16-18, 2018, has been changed by the organisers. The much-awaited travel trade event, which was earlier slated to be held at Vigyan Bhavan, will now take place at The Ashok, New Delhi. Informing about the updated schedule, Subhash Goyal, Hony Secretary, FAITH and Chairman, India Tourism Mart said, “The venue for ITM has been changed by the Ministry of Tourism looking at the overall security arrangements. It will now be held at The Ashok, New Delhi. Other programmes remain intact as per schedule.”  

The collective government spending in India on travel and tourism is expected to reach Rs 367.9 billion (US$ 5.85 billion) in 2028, according to a report by Tourism and Hospitality report by “Collective government spending on tourism by IBEF”. In 2017 the collective spending was Rs 169.8 billion (US$ 2.81 billion), the report said.    

The upcoming India Tourism Mart (ITM), jointly organised by Ministry of Tourism and Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH), have selected a total of 274 buyers out of over 600 applications received for the same. MOT and FAITH, with representatives of its various member associations held a curtain raiser of the India Tourism Mart in New Delhi, where updates were shared on the progress of the event scheduled to be held from September 16-18, 2018. Subhash Goyal, Honorary Secretary, FAITH, shared, “We have selected 274 buyers out of over 600 applications by a screening committee to ensure that we only have genuine buyers. For sellers, we have about 16 participating states, out of which the major partner states are Punjab and Gujarat. Around 70 small booths have been taken by tour operators, worth Rs 60,000 on individual basis and Rs 30,000 each on sharing. This totals to about 100 tour operators. Besides, IATO has taken six booths with 12 operators each, for whom IATO has subsidised the rates at around Rs 15,000 each. Similarly, ATOAI has taken a number of booths. We have even given booths for operators in the Northeast.”

The proportion of FTAs in India has not changed much in the last few years. In 2016, the highest numbers of FTAs in India were from 35-44 years age group (21.1 per cent) followed by the age groups of 45-54 years, according to a report by Ministry of Tourism. The proportion of FTAs for the age group of 25-34 years has been the highest from East Asia, West Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Central and South America in 2016,  according to a report by Minsitry of Tourism. The report also says that for Australasia, South Asia and South East Asia was the age group of 35-44 years. The percentage share of the age-group of 45-54 has been the highest for North America and Western Europe.

FTA’s in India from different regions of the world has been increasing from all areas. The growth was maximum from Eastern Europe (22.64 per cent) followed by South Asia (12.76 per cent) , Australasia(11.79 per cent), Central and South America (11.25 per cent), East Asia (11.12 per cent), West Asia (8.20 per cent), North America &7.98 per cent), Western Europe (7.94 per cent), South East Asia (6.54 per cent) and Africa (2.9 per cent), according to a report by Minsitry of Tourism. The percentage share in FTAs in India during 2016 was the highest for South Asia (24.93 per cent) followed by Western Europe (23.05 per cent), North America (18.33 per cent), South East Asia (8.74 per cent), East Asia (7.01 per cent), West Asia (5.13 per cent), Eastern Europe (4.61 per cent), Australasia (3.96 per cent, Africa (3.42 per cent) and Central and South America (0.89 per cent).

Ram Nath Kovind, President of India, launched the Ministry of Tourism website on important Buddhist sites indiathelandofbuddha.in and a new film showcasing the Buddhist sites in the country at the inaugural function of  International Buddhist Conclave 2018, held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. This website is different from the Incredible India website which was launched recently. Apart from that, as part of Ministry of Tourism’s Incredible India 2.0 campaign, Kovind also launched a new ad film which showcased Buddhist tourism sites across the country.  

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the International Buddhist Conclave (IBC), 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi  in the presence of KJ Alphons, Minister of State (I/C), Tourism; Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Tourism; Satyajit Rajan, Director General, Tourism; ministerial delegates from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Travel trade representatives from India and various other countries were also present for the conclave. Addressing the audience, Kovind said, “India is the land of Buddha and this initiative by Ministry of Tourism would attract visitors from around the world to come to India and experience the Buddhist destinations in the country.” The first day of the conclave also included presentations by the Ministry of Tourism and state governments on Buddhist tourism prospects in the country. An investor’s summit was also going on alongside the conclave to look for investment opportunities in the Buddhist tourism sector in the country. A B2B session was also conducted between foreign and Indian tour operators along with a panel discussion on ‘Role of Living Buddhist Heritage in the Contemporary Society’. The Conclave is being organised by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the state governments of Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh from August 23-26, 2018 at New Delhi and Ajanta (Maharashtra).

President Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate the International Buddhist Conclave (IBC), 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on August 23. KJ Alphons, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism will preside over the inaugural function. The Conclave is being organised by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the state governments of Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh from August 23-26, 2018 at New Delhi and Ajanta (Maharashtra), followed by site visits to Rajgir, Nalanda and Bodhgaya (Bihar) and Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh). During the inaugural session of the Conclave, the Ministry will launch its website landofbuddha.in and a new film showcasing the Buddhist sites in the country. Delegates would be taken for site visits to Aurangabad, Rajgir, Nalanda, Bodhgaya and Sarnath. The Ministerial level delegation from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Sri Lanka will participate in the conclave. Delegates from 29 countries are participating in the event. The countries include Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mangolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, UK,  USA and Vietnam.  

Dr Najma A Heptulla, Governor of Manipur, has recently inaugurated the project ‘Development of North East Circuit: Imphal & Khongjom’ implemented under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India in the presence of N Biren Singh, Chief Minister of Manipur; K J Alphons, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism and Rashmi Verma, Union Tourism Secretary in Imphal at a function held at Kangla Fort. Speaking on the occasion, Heptulla drew the attention of Government of India on the huge potential of the tourism industry of the state which comes in the form of culture, sports, arts, eco, histor, handloom and handicrafts. Alphons, in his speech, congratulated the Government of Manipur for its commendable work in tourism sector of the state and suggested to come up with even more brighter projects and express his willingness to be generous on the projects to be taken up in North East. Singh, in his remarks, has proposed for three more projects for development and strengthening of eco, ethnic and sports tourism at Loktak Lake, Mapithel Dam and Shadu Chiru. He also expressed his happiness on the progress of Kangkhui cave tourism project. The project under inauguration was sanctioned by the Ministry of Tourism in September 2015 for Rs 72.30 crores. The project covers two sites, namely, Kangla Fort and Khongjom.

Since the launch of a revamped version of Incredible India website, 1.6 million visitors have visited the website as on August 2, 2018, engaging in the immersive experience of India’s heritage, festivity, spirituality, museums and adventure. The composition of website traffic from the top five countries are Russia (19%), India (12%), UK (10%), US (9%) and Italy (6%). The website showcases India as a holistic destination, revolving around major experiences such as spirituality, heritage, adventure, culture, yoga, wellness and more. It follows the trends and technologies of international standards, that aims to project India as a “must-visit” destination, among its overseas travellers. It has many useful features to make it more interactive and to provide a deeper engagement to the travellers visiting the website. The new site now allows the Ministry of Tourism to engage effectively with visitors across web and social channels and measure engagement, to deliver real time personalised experiences for each visitor, based on their interest and travel persona. The website also brings online a series of compelling visuals, which will give the user an immersive experience of India’s spectacular heritage, festivity, spirituality, museums and adventure.