Category Archives: States

Jitul Mehta, Chairman, Western India Chapter, TAFI, says, “TAFI is focusing a lot on domestic and Inbound tourist, as it is a good way to generate revenue for our members. There are lot of new domestic destinations and products training sessions in the pipeline. We recently showcased the National Museum of Indian Cinema in Mumbai to our members where they took a tour and learnt about the history of cinema.”  

Manipur CM N. Biren Singh said that a US-based company will spend USD 500 million in the state’s tourism sector with several other foreign investments on the cards. He added, “The state will receive an investment of 500 mn dollars in tourism from a company based in the US.” Citing the willingness of several other foreign investors, particularly from Argentina, Peru, and Bangladesh, to invest in the state, he said Manipur will witness development in all sectors.

The Finance Minister has announced that an app will be developed covering all relevant aspects of tourism. States will be encouraged to set up Unity Malls in state capital as the most prominent tourism centres to promote One District One Product, GI products, handicrafts and products of other states.

Rohan Khaunte, Goa’s Minister of Tourism, speaking at an event, shared that with a focus on the travel industry, Goa is exploring circuit tourism within the state, similar to the concept of the Golden Triangle.

Kerala has made a remarkable comeback by welcoming 1.88 crore domestic tourists in 2022, which is a record in the state’s history, Tourism Minister P A Mohammed Riyas said. Domestic tourism was given prominence in the programmes prepared to be implemented in the post-COVID period and the government achieved its target through coordinated efforts. “As a result, by the end of 2022, it had become the year which Kerala witnessed the greatest number of domestic tourists after its formation. A total of 1.88 crore domestic tourists arrived in the state in that year,” he said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath launched a new global gateway for the state with the inauguration of the first VFS Global Joint Visa Application Centre (JVAC) and the VFS Global Academy in Lucknow. This spacious and comfortable facility equipped with modern amenities and services will have the capacity of processing approximately 1.2 lakh applications a year and will be of immense benefit to the citizens of Uttar Pradesh, who till now had to travel to other cities like New Delhi to submit their visa applications. 

While the industry is happy of tourism being mentioned in Union Budget 2023-24, tour operators in Himachal Pradesh have demanded to be brought uder a special package to boost tourism. Also, they asked for Bharat Bhraman schemes to be extended in the state in addition to ow-interest rates on loans for tourism business.

Welcoming all trade partners and potential exhibitors to Global Panorama Showcase 2023, Harmandeep Singh Anand, MD, Global Panorama Showcase, says, “We successfully completed four cities in the last quarter of 2022, we now welcome trade partners to GPS 2023 with Kolkata, pune, Chandigarh, Nagpur, Lucknow and Bhubaneshwar. We had over 300 buyers register for GPS Bhubaneshwar and we look forward to welcoming more to 6-8 more cities in the third and fourth quarter of 2023.”    

Marking the National Tourism Day on 25th January 2023 under the aegis of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, seminars, cultural events and other programmes are being organised by the Centre where several states are conducting events to promote tourism in their region. The Indian government established January 25 as the National Tourism Day to raise awareness about the importance of tourism for the country’s economy. The day is observed to cultivate awareness among the global community on the importance of tourism and its social, political, financial and cultural worth.

Sunaina Mehta, Joint director, Tourism, J&K, has said that, “We are looking forward that more investments take place as we are in the process of  outsourcing the assets and we look forward that better players come forward for PPP, so that some better avenues are also generated for earning livelihood for the youth of J&K and at the same time explore the potential at various destinations.”