Category Archives: States

IATO recently orgainsed a members meet where Hareet Shukla, Secretary Tourism, Govt. of Gujarat said, Gujarat has a progressive tourism policy. They have come up with various policies on heritage, adventure sports, homestays and are going to launch cinematic tourism policy soon. Through these policies the government of Gujarat aims to promote various sectors of the economy. The details of the upcoming 36th IATO Annual Convention from 16th – 19th December 2021 at Gandhinagar was also discussed. 

Harmandeep Singh Anand, MD, Global Panorama Showcase, has announced that they will be doing the next edition of GPS from April 2022 in 16 cities, covering 4 cities in each quarter. “The events will be physical and depending on the participation, it will be for one day in most cities, and in certain cities it will be for two days. The same GPS format will be followed, and the virtual platform is already there so that people can connect. There are almost 2000+ verified attendees, consisting of pan India buyers, who are registered, which is the USP of the GPs platform. The 16 cities will be the four metros–Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru; along with the 8 cities that were already there–Nagpur , Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Kochi, Pune; and we will be adding Jaipur, Indore, Guwahati and Visakhapatnam,” informed Singh. He added, “Pricing will also be according to the category of cities and audience we are targeting. We won’t be targeting 1000 agents per city now. Because of COVID, we will be restricting it to between 100-300 buyers per city. With more people expected in metros, the event would probably be split over two days. GPS would be a targeted event, where we want the decision makers to be present, and not anyone or everyone.”  

Speaking at a symposium on developing film tourism and facilitating film shoots in India, Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, said, “I request all states in India to establish film promotion offices that will help co-ordinate with all necessary departments to give permissions for film shoots on time. And of course develop film tourism policies if you don’t have them.”

Indian tourists will be some of the most desirable travellers, given India’s growing economy, young population and rising middle class, according to GlobalData. The data and analytics company notes that the country is projected to reach record levels of 29 million outbound trips by 2025 – a buoyant outlook considering the strains of COVID-19.

Jammu & Kashmir’s gets its first-ever open-air floating on the Dal Lake. The theatre was inaugurated by J&K chief secretary Arun Kumar Mehta, and is aimed at attracting more tourists to the region. On this occasion, a Shikara rally, adorned with shining lights passed through Nehru Park to Kabootar Khana with local artists singing and dancing to Kashmiri songs which entertained guests and passersby. Old Indian film ‘Kashmir ki Kali’ was screened during the festival.

Aaditya Thackeray, Tourism & Environment Minister, Maharashtra has said that in the post COVID world, tourism sector will be our sponge industry which will absorb the highest number of employment growth, highest revenue for the state, and it will have a ripple effect on the country’s economy.

Uttarakhand is working towards setting up a cave tourism circuit in Gangolihat, Pithoragarh. It is a set of nine underground caves, which were recently discovered and have the potential to be a great tourist attraction. MPS Bisht, Director, Uttarakhand Space Application Centre (USAC), said in a statement, “These are natural heritage sites, which we are going to protect and eventually they will be opened for tourists. The central government has already given a nod. Slovenia earns almost 30 per cent revenue through cave tourism. We, too, can generate good tourism income this way.”

Kerala Government has made registration mandatory for service providers in the Adventure Tourism sector for conducting a wide range of land, water and air-related activities to ensure their quality and safety. Tourism Director V R Krishna Teja said Kerala considered adventure tourism as a highly promising segment, especially in the post-pandemic surge. “By introducing the registration system, foolproof safety and standard will be achieved in the sector, which will help Kerala to attract more tourists to this sector with utmost confidence,” he said.

Delhi features as a top source market for Thomas Cook India. Lockdown fatigue and pent-up demand is resulting in strong travel desire from Delhites – Thomas Cook India has been witnessing a robust 60% month-on-month increase since re-opening in June 2021. A surge in demand for the upcoming Festive & Winter Season, Expo 2020 Dubai and honeymoon travel due to marriage season in North is powering travel growth from Delhi. Thomas Cook India reports that the demand is back to 65% of pre-pandemic levels overall: domestic travel at an impressive 290%; international at 55% (acquisition data Sept 2021 vs Sept 2019). Maldives, Switzerland, France, Russia, Spain, Egypt are the top destinations, while Expo 2020 Dubai is seeing a brisk demand currently. Additionally, Delhi is also witnessing a strong demand for overseas education travel and Thomas Cook India has delivered well on student travel to USA and Canada with quarantine packages. Delhi NCR Travel Trends: Thomas Cook India’s survey has revealed insightful consumer behaviours & travel trends for Delhi 62% prefer international destinations; favourites include Maldives, Dubai, Switzerland, France 78% prefer Domestic holidays; Kashmir, Leh-Ladakh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand; with North East and Andamans now seeing strong demand *(*data not equal to 100% as multiple choice options were provided to customers) Top Experiences: Delhites enjoy outdoor adventure trips like Biking in Ladakh, Rafting in Uttaranchal ,Kashmir, Rajasthan, South India; mountain destinations and experiences like ATV rides/a picnic lunch in an apple orchard; Andamans and beach destinations with water sports like sea karting, snorkeling, etc. Winter holidays with festivities of Christmas markets in Switzerland & France or Russia’s Lapland & Northern Lights, Nile cruises, hot air ballooning in Cappadocia (Turkey) and Expo …

Travel Agents Federation of India – Gujarat Chapter has written to the Ahmedabad Airport Director regarding an announcement made for Ahmedabad runway repair from 3 January 2022 to 31 May 2022 from 9am to 6pm excluding public holidays and Sundays. The latter states, ‘We propose that this repair and maintenance work if possible should be executed in night hours from 10pm to 5am starting from March 2022 with a short completion period. We seek your immediate support to make these changes happen and save the tourism industry from losing its current pace.’