Category Archives: States

Kadakampalli Surendran, Minister of Tourism, Government of Kerala, recently inaugurated the ‘Responsible Tourism Mission’ project, aimed at the development of local communities and growth of tourism in the state. The project comprises various Onam packages for tourists, which will be available till September 30, and will also integrate small enterprises run by the local communities and responsible tourism units. The packages range from Rs. 2000 to Rs. 8000, and are aimed to benefit the Kudumbasree units in the villages, weaving centres, homely meals enterprises and others. Through this project, tourists can enjoy travelling while participating in household Onam celebrations. On this occasion, Surendran said, “The government has allotted Rs. 4.5 crore for the new venture and all the projects executed by Responsible Tourism mission are aimed at the development of the local community. A human resource directory has been prepared to provide jobs to people across the state. Additionally, we have announced some special tour packages for this season during Onam, and we have received an overwhelming response in the initial phase itself.” “Started in 7 destinations, the project will be extended across the state in the coming season. Hitherto, as many as 126 households, 63 home stays and 34 restaurants have come forth for the package. Around 650 families across the seven destinations have registered to explore the feast Onasadya. Furthermore, we hosted around 170 international tourists and 146 domestic tourists under Onam packages of responsible tourism,” said P Balakiran, Director, Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala.

The Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, Jayakumar Jitendrasinh Rawal, met the delegates from Wakayama Prefecture to discuss tourism potential between the two countries. Also present at the event were other dignitaries like Vijay Waghmare, Managing Director, MTDC, and Aashutosh Rathod, Joint Managing Director, MTDC. The international delegates included Hiroyuki Tsui, Director General, International Planning Division, Wakayama Prefecture Government, and Onishi Tatsunori, International Planning Division, Wakayama Prefecture Government. The Japanese delegates from Wakayama Prefecture also explored the well-known Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat to see the traditional way of washing clothes.

The Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka, reportedly plans to promote tourism in the state through special tour packages for the Dussehra festival. The department, through its arm Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC), intends to launch the ‘Dasara Special Tour Package’ in the Golden Chariot, the only luxury tourist train in South India, run by KSTDC, to promote this state festival. The first trip will run from September 23 to 25, and the second from September 29 to October 1. The train will depart from and arrive at the Yeshwantpur railway station in Bengaluru. Priyank Kharge, Minister for Information Technology, Bio-Technology, Science and Technology and Tourism, Government of Karnataka, reportedly said, “This initiative of KSTDC provides an excellent opportunity to people to experience royalty on board, which would showcase the Nadahabba, the Mysuru Dasara and its grandeur.” KSTDC has also planned curated royal walks to allow guests to explore the heritage-rich city of Mysuru. Guests will be offered a gold pass to witness the Dasara and cultural programmes in front of an illuminated Mysuru Palace. Source: Hindu Business Line

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has launched special Ganesh Darshan tours for the devotees in Mumbai, Pune and Konkan region to celebrate 125 years of Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav. On this occasion, MTDC is promoting Ganpati mandals, which was started by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak in Mumbai. Ganesh Darshan tours will not only surge tourism in the state, but also give a chance to foreign and domestic travellers to be a part of the celebrations. The tours will include sighting of the most popular Ganesh pandals in Mumbai, including Lalbaug-cha-Raja, Ganesh Gully, GSB Mandal, Fort-cha-Raja, Fanaswadi Ganesha, Jitekarwadi Ganesha and Bramhansabha Ganesha. The tour will commence from Prabhadevi, from where dedicated 45-seater AC buses will take tourists on this devotional ride. These tours have started from August 26 and will continue till September 5, 2017.

Looking to establish Delhi as a prime tourist destination, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in association with Delhi Tourism, held an interactive conference at the PHD House, New Delhi. The deliberations focused on the various OUVs (Outstanding Universal Values) that the city possesses and the various measures, including policy matters, that are needed to bring forth Delhi as a destination rich in history, culture and various forms of art, as well as a political and business destination. Speaking at the occasion, Guest of Honour, Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Tourism, Art, Culture and Language, Government of Delhi, said, “Tourism is not just about successful branding; we need massive collaborations to create, manage and sell efficiently. The impetus should be on creating circuits, infrastructure and activities to extend the average length of stay of a tourist.” From adding dimensions in order to better practice heritage conservation to introducing a heritage-centric strategy to reinvent the ecosystem of the city, the conference discussed about a makeover of the city that would augment tourism in the city and strengthen the overall economic framework of the city in the process. The forum also laid stress on the need for more result-oriented heritage projects and for synergies to be created between private and public players to establish the image of Delhi as a modernised city rooted in the history and culture of its people.

The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board has reportedly approved new infrastructure projects worth Rs 1,000 crore in Malabar region. According to Tourism Minister of Kerala, Kadakampally Surendran, the state is putting all efforts to leverage tourism to the Malabar region including five districts of Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Kasargod and Wayanad. Surendran reportedly pointed that though a million foreign travellers and 13.1 million domestic tourists visit Kerala every year, only about a sixth of them visit the scenic Malabar and the government plans to change this with its efforts. He reportedly said that the travel destinations in Malabar will be developed in keeping with the best international tourism norms. With a new airport in Kannur about to open, the state is now installing the infrastructure to put Malabar on the global tourism map. “Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) will set up a four-star hotel in Kozhikode and three other star hotels in Bekal beach, Muzhupilangad beach and Kannur airport,” he reportedly said. The state has urged the private players to invest in Malabar. V Venu, Principal Secretary-Tourism, reportedly said that the government is negotiating hospitality projects with a number of global brands. “We’ll fill the (infrastructure) gaps with our tourism development funds,” he said. Source: India Today

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has taken steps to rebrand tourism in Maharashtra with the launch of its new logo “म” for the Visit Maharashtra Campaign. The logo was unveiled by Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, in the presence of Jaykumar Jitendrasinh Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra. Fadnavis said, “We are very happy to announce the launch of the new logo “म” Visit Maharashtra to promote the state tourism prospects worldwide. Maharashtra has an incredible potential to become the most preferred destinations for both domestic and international tourists. We are planning to organise ‘Mumbai Mela’ from December 21 to January 8, 2018, to engage with domestic and international tourists. ‘Mumbai Mela’ will offer a huge platform to various segments to explore their offerings to the tourists. I believe, this new logo of Visit Maharashtra Campaign will push Maharashtra on the global map and create Brand Maharashtra as a popular tourist destination.”

Sensing the immense and innumerable possibilities of promoting Kerala as a destination for ‘Adventure and Activity based Tourism’, the State Tourism Department is focusing on developing new projects to utilise the same, said Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran. Inaugurating a one day workshop organised by the department to give shape to its tourism policy, the Minister said that the need and time has come for the tourism department to evolve itself to cater to the needs of activity and adventure based tourism from now on. While the primary focus at the workshop had been to find new possibilities to take adventure tourism forward in the state, the minister stressed on the need to work closely and in coordination with the Forest Department to realise the goals in the adventure tourism sector. Kerala Tourism is currently planning to re-brand itself and find new avenues to take the sector forward in order to double the tourist arrivals by 2021. Keeping this in mind the department will now start a new ‘Tourist Circuit’ based out of North Kerala and will shift focus from areas it had been concentrating all this while to specifically give thrust to Adventure Tourism with the sole aim of attracting more youngsters to the state. Reiterating the commitment to responsible tourism the minister said that the state government has a definite stand in this regard which will be part of the Tourism Policy that the government will table at upcoming session of the state assembly. Environmental protection and raising the standard of living among the local population are the two primary objectives that the government will focus on as part of responsible tourism. The government will encourage and support new …

Odisha is planning to develop coastal tourism circuit in the state and for the same, the state government has announced an investment of funds to the tune of Rs. 76 crore. “We have taken several steps to tap the tourism potential in the state and attract more tourists,” said Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister, Government of Odisha. He further added that the government is giving added emphasis on the development of infrastructure facilities in tourist spots. Ashok Panda, Tourism Minister, Government of Odisha, informed that the government would develop the coastal tourism circuit with an investment of Rs 76.50 crore under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of the Centre. Gopalpur, Tampara, Barkul and Satapada will be in the coastal circuit tourism project. Infrastructure growth and beach development will be the priority in the state and the Central government has released about Rs 15.30 crore in the first instalment of the project and work shall begin for the same shortly. He further added that the government has provided over Rs 20 crore for infrastructure development of tourist spots in Ganjam district in the last two years. Source: PTI

Celebrating the contribution of stalwarts in the travel and tourism industry, the East India Travel Awards commenced in full swing on July 26, 2017, at Radisson Blu Hotel Guwahati. Gathering the region’s movers and shakers under one roof, the event was inaugurated by R Sudhan, Special Secretary (Tourism), Government of Manipur, who also was the Guest of Honour for the awards ceremony. The India Travel Awards salutes the best in the industry and awardees are selected based on a non-biased system of voting.