Category Archives: States

Odisha Tourism is going to organise ‘Odisha Travel Bazaar’ on the lines of the Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB) and Kerala Travel Mart (KTM). Dr. R K Pattanayak, Tourist Officer, Department of Tourism, Govt of Odisha, says, “We are still on the verge of finalising this but we are going to have it by the end of this year or next year beginning. We look forward to attract more investments and tourists through the ‘Odisha Travel Bazaar’.” Utpal K Pati, Deputy Director, Department of Tourism, Govt of Odisha, says, “We are expecting travel agents as well as tour operators and 10-15 states and Union Territories to participate in the exhibition.”

Odisha received a total of 1,18,53,088 (11.8 million) tourists in 2015, registering a growth rate of 9 per cent, said Utpal K. Pati, Deputy Director, Department of Tourism, Odisha. While 66,971 foreign tourist arrivals were recorded, 1,17,86,117 domestic tourists visited the state in 2015, he said during the state’s roadshow in New Delhi held on March 29. “We are mainly targeting the domestic market, especially tourists from Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, and will be organising roadshows all over India. The other agenda is to improve connectivity to the region and involve more airlines to start direct flights to Odisha. Since Bhubaneshwar airport recently started operating to international destinations, we are hoping to see a growth of about 7-8 per cent in foreign tourist arrivals this year. We are also aggressively promoting the Buddhist circuit as numerous ancient Buddhist sites are located in the state,” informed Pati. The state tourism department is going orgainse 10 roadshows in the country this year.

Delhi Government has earmarked Rs 10 crore for development of tourism infrastructure in 2016-17. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Manish Sisodia announced this while presenting the 2016-17 Budget in the Delhi Assembly. The government also proposed to create a new campaign called ‘Brand Delhi’ and has earmarked Rs 30 crore for Brand Delhi and Delhi Festival in 2016-17. “We will re-develop the online presence of destination Delhi through websites, Apps, maps, social media and micro-sites,” Sisodia said. The government has also propose a skywalk way from Qutub Minar Metro Station to the Qutub Minar, a first of its kind is proposed to be developed in 2016-17. The said walkway will go over the Mehrauli archaeological complex.

In a bid to simplify tax regime, Delhi Government has announced increase in threshold limit of Luxury Tax from existing Rs 750 to Rs 1,500. “This will reduce tax burden on citizens and tourists and make it easy for small hotels to do business,” said Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Manish Sisodia. The government has decided to introduce self declaration in Luxury Tax. Assessment of all hotels is compulsory and will be done on random basis. The revenue collection from Luxury Tax has seen an increase of 36.7 per cent. As against last year’s Rs 322 crore of revenue from Luxury Tax, this year will exceed Rs 440 crore is estimated to be collected. Last year, the government had enhanced Luxury Tax from 10 per cent to 15 per cent for all applicable establishment.

Andhra Pradesh reportedly attracted 1,218.3 lakh tourists in 2015 from across the globe. Domestic footfalls to the state increased to 1218.3 lakh in 2015 as against 933 lakh in 2014, thereby registering a growth of 30 per cent. Neerabh Kumar Prasad, I.A.S., Principal Secretary to Government, Tourism & Culture, says, “In our endeavor to make Andhra Pradesh as India’s most preferred tourist destination, this data comes to us as a great encouragement. Under the leadership of our Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu and with a focused strategy in place, we are hopeful of this growth momentum to be replicated year after year going forward. We will continue to invest and focus to develop tourism in Andhra Pradesh of global standard.” Anantapur district which houses the famous Puttaparthi and Lord Veerbhadra temple at Lepakshi, became the most visited destination by foreign tourists with a footfall of 1.37 lakh foreigners. Among international tourist arrivals, 2.37 lakh tourists visited the state during the year 2015 as against 66,333 visited in 2014. Majority of the foreign tourists were from the South – East Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Middle East countries such as Dubai among others. Dr. R.P. Khajuria, I.F.S., Commissioner, Department of Tourism says, “Andhra Pradesh is one of the few states in India, which has such a rich diversity in terms of tourism and has the capacity to attract tourists across all age groups. The potential that lays ahead for the state is vast and these numbers are testimonials to the fact that increasing number of tourists both in India and abroad are realizing what the state can offer.” Andhra Pradesh also witnessed large number of footfalls from business travellers …

The new Maharashtra tourism policy will come in effect from April 1, 2016. The Maharashtra government has targeted an investment of about Rs 30,000 crore through the new policy which is expected to give a huge boost to the travel and hospitality industry in the state. Valsa Nair Singh, Principal Secretary Tourism & Cultural Affairs, Government of Maharashtra, who has been spearheading this, feels that the new policy will turn out to be the biggest launch pad for Maharashtra to reach to the top spot in the list of destinations for travellers. Apart from the regular databases and guidelines which the policy will be looking at, we have announced a very big basket of incentives for tourism investments. There is a VAT subsidy of 50-75 per cent depending on different slabs for any investments in Maharashtra apart from the luxury tax exemption, entertainment tax exemption, stamp duty, etc. We have also launched the single-window clearance for all investments related to hospitality businesses,” she says.

Nagpur-based Western Coalfields Limited’s effort to promote eco-friendly Mine Tourism at a green zone within a coal mining belt at Saoner village, found its mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ speech. Modi who has been encouraging people to tour different parts of the country in his speeches, said Coal India deserves special mention for creating such a facility. He said that works like WCL’s eco-park at Saoner which has drawn 10,000 visitors so far can change the mindset.The eco-park, which was started in November 2015, is a major attraction situated at around 40 km from the city. It is a forested route up to two km from the Saoner town. The park has a water body, bamboo plantation and most of the natural forest has been kept in its original shape. Around 500 visitors come here on weekly basis and the entry, is free, he said. “Normally the very name of a coal mine gives an impression that one should stay away from such a place. The pictures available show that it may not be worthwhile visiting a mining area. However, WCL has turned a coal mine into an attractive tourist spot. Developing an eco-friendly tourist circuit in a coal mine area is indeed a novel idea,” Modi said in his speech.

According to data released by Department of Tourism, Govt.of Goa, there was no drop in foreign tourist arrivals in 2015. A total of 52,97,902 tourists visited  Goa in 2015 which includes 47,56,422  domestic  tourists and  5,41,480 foreign tourists. While the state has recorded an overall 30.54 per cent increase in tourist arrivals for 2015, domestic tourist arrivals were up by 34 percent and foreign tourist arrivals up by 5.4 per cent. Tourist arrivals during the monsoons (June, July and August 2015) recorded a 22 per cent increase as against an 18 per cent increase in 2014. Foreign tourist arrivals to Goa from  UK, Russia, UAE, USA, Portugal, South Africa and many others have shown an increase in arrivals to the  State despite  continued recession and crises’ that hit the European regions. The eTV regime introduced by the Central government in December 2014 has also facilitated easy access of foreign tourists to Goa. Within a year (Till December 31, 2015) a total of 49,626 eTVs were issued to foreign tourists. Dilip Parulekar, Minister for Tourism, said, “We are extremely delighted to know that despite various negative geo-political situations across the globe these have not hit Goa Tourism in any way. We have received a good response from foreign and domestic tourists in 2015 as in the past. Our new initiatives, marketing and promoting is showing substantial results and we are optimistic that tourists will choose Goa as their destination for holidaying.”

The Government of Maharashtra has announced ‘industry status’ for  tourism in the state’s new tourism policy.  Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also declared the state government’s intention to invest up to Rs 30,000 crore in tourism. The policy also underlines a focus on skill development that will consequently enhance employment in the tourism sector. The policy also shows an intention to boost Medical Tourism, Nature Tourism and Agriculture Tourism. The government has proposed to exempt Luxury Tax, entertainment tax, electricity duty charges and stamp duty on investment on land owned by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) and has offered additional incentives for tourism projects by women entrepreneurs, tourism projects by special people, and sustainable tourist projects. Fadnavis said, “This policy will generate 10 lakh new employment and double the income of state coming from tourism industry.

According to the latest Hotel Price Index report from Hotels.com, Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru topped the charts where travellers paid the most for hotel accommodation in India in 2015. Mumbai is where all travellers, both domestic and international visitors, paid the most for accommodation with a three per cent increase to Rs 8,160 per night. Delhi, which for two consecutive years witnessed an increase in tariff prices, this time marginally fell by one per cent to Rs 6,807.