Category Archives: States

To promote eco-tourism in the state, Odisha Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra approved 13 new eco-tourism places and nature camps including 10 new eco-retreats and three new nature camp places.

Karnataka Tourism has invited expressions of interest (EoIs) for the development of adventure tourism in Karnataka. Interested applicants can send the EoI to the government along with the necessary specifications.

Oberoi Group plans to invest Rs 1,500 crore in setting up various projects in Andhra Pradesh, thereby directly providing employment opportunities to 1,500 people and 11,000 people indirectly. The group is to build hotels with seven-star facilities.

Goa Tourism Development Corporation planning road shows and exhibitions in four major cities in October and November, which will be held in Paris (France) around October 26, Zurich (Switzerland) around October 28, Frankfurt (Germany) around November 1, and Vienna (Austria) around November 3. A delegation of 75  people will include politicians, bureaucrats, representatives from travel and tour operators and other stakeholders in the tourism industry. GTDC is organising the road show and has floated a Request For Proposal (RFP) from an agency who can organise and manage the Goa Tourism side at these roadshows.

Tourism sector in UP will get industry status as CM Adityanath has approved the proposal, reveals official sources. This change will be effective in the tourism policy being drafted. This would make investment in the sector easier and more sustainable. Power charges and taxes will come down. Land allotment will be easier too.

Launching the first ‘Mizoram Tourism Start Up Competition’ in the state capital, Robert Romawia Royte, Minister of State (IC) for Sports & Youth Services, I&CT, and Tourism, Mizoram, says, “Pitching your ideas can be a great way to open the door to investment and make connections that can bring your business endeavours far into the future. I believe that enabling young entrepreneurs to freely create their own business concepts will be a great fit. Do take part and turn your ideas into reality.”

Foreign tourists visiting the Himalayan state of Sikkim can now apply for Restricted Area Permit (RAP) and Protected Area Permit (PAP) online from October this year. They can do this via a dedicated website for both the permits. Work for developing the website is on. This was announced by Sikkim CM Prem Singh Tamang. This was an age-old demand of The Travel Agents Association of Sikkim (TAAS).

Addressing the seventh meeting of the Governing Council (GC) of NITI Aayog, Prime Minister Narendra Modi aid that each state should focus on promoting its 3Ts, Trade, Tourism, Technology, through every Indian Mission around the world. This was the first physical meeting of the Governing Council since the onset of the pandemic.

The Directorate of Tourism (DoT), Maharashtra Tourism, Govt. of Maharashtra is finally kick-starting the inspection of hotels for awarding industry status to them. The Tourism Directorate of Pune is the first one to commence the inspection on the 3rd and 4th August 2022. A total number of 181 non-classified hotels have registered and applied since June 2021 in Pune region that the inspection committee and the appointed agency will be visiting. The Government of Maharashtra had awarded Industry status to the Hospitality sector in April 1999 but that remained only on paper and wasn’t implemented. In 2020, there was a development in the decision when the State government issued the GR, announcing the criteria for levying taxes and charges at the industrial rate for the non-classified hotels. Since then, non-classified hotels were appealed to register and apply to avail the benefits. And now, as the regional offices have received a considerable number of registrations, the inspection committee will begin their site visits. The Committee will be chaired by the Deputy Directors of the respective regions, a representative of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) department, regional representative of Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), local representative of Hotel and Restaurant Association (HRA) and a representative of Tour Operator Association (TOA). The agency Qualstar has prepared a road map for inspecting sites which will be followed by the committee. Dr. Dhananjay Sawalkar, Joint Director, Directorate of Tourism (DoT) informed, “So far 446 applications across Maharashtra have been received by DoT. After inspection, if these hotels fulfill all the said criteria, they will be eligible to receive industrial status. This will make electricity charges, water bill, property tax and,non-agricultural tax available to the registered …

Goa tourism department has reduced the number of clearances or permissions that trades are required to attach at the time of registration. For a new hotel, an entity can get registration done by submitting three documents such as ownership document, CST registration, if applicable, and an identity proof; while no document needs to be submitted for renewal.