Category Archives: States

Kerala’s Tourism Minister PA Mohamed Riyas has assured stakeholders in tourism that the government will unveil various projects focusing on the revival of the sector. “Apart from completing the present projects on a time-bound manner, two new heritage projects focusing on Ponnani and Aranmula will be planned and implemented quickly,” he said, adding that more tourism circuits will also be formed.

Tourism stakeholders of the Andaman Islands, Gujarat and Karnataka have sought urgent financial relief from their respective state governments and tourism departments, while also suggesting measures of revival. Said representations have been made by Andaman Association of Tour Operators, Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Karnataka Tourism Society, respectively.

A high-level meeting presided by the new Kerala Tourism Minister PA Mohammed Riyas has decided to finalise projects and implement them at the earliest, for instilling confidence in travellers and woo them to a number of places across Kerala. The state is charting measures to revive its tourism sector by rolling out packages that encourage domestic travellers to visit the destinations in the state. In a month, the various approval/classification schemes under Ease of Doing Business will go online. Authorities will draft new COVID-19 protocols for tourists arriving from other states.

Tour operators from Kashmir Tourism Trade Bodies Joint Forum (KTTBJF) have demanded some measures that need to be taken by the Government for the revival of the tourism industry in J&K. They demanded that tour and travel operators have gained popularity and need to be recognised as a tourism unit and all the industrial benefits must be given to the tour operators as are given to the hoteliers. They also urged that the tourism incentive scheme should be extended for the next 15 years and travel agents and tour operators should be included, and all the pending cases should be cleared at the earliest. They also demanded a waiver on the GST and claimed that the Government should first let the tourism sector breathe first. They also pointed out that the adventure tour operators are going through many problems and for the last 3 years they have not been able to pay the bank EMIs of the loans they have taken for increasing the infrastructure for adventure tourism.

Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board is all set to launch a special project ‘Safe Tourism Destinations for Women in MP’ with the support of the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD). The project will be implemented in a phased manner at 50 destinations in the state in the next three years at a cost of Rs 27.98 crores.

The Maharashtra government has prepared and submitted a tentative ‘serial’ nomination in order to seek the World Heritage Site tag for 14 forts in the state. All 14 of them belong to the era of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the 17th century and these forts have been built on the theme of Maratha Military Architecture. The Ministry of Culture after a serial nomination by the Archaeological Survey of India has forwarded the list to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Tourism department started a special vaccination drive for the people associated with travel and hospitality sector in the age group of 18 to 45 years at TRC Srinagar, Pahalgam and Gulmarg. Dedicated vaccination centres have been established for centralised and fast-tracked coverage of all identified beneficiaries after proper verification. It has also allocated nodal officers and help desks at each centre.

Sudha Murty, Chairperson of Infosys Foundation, has donated Rs10,000 each to 300 tourist guides from seven heritage hubs of the state of Karnataka that include Hampi, Belur, Halebid, Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal and Chitra. The latest wave of COVID-19 has left tour guides destitute, especially after the ray of hope that the opening up of tourism beginning late 2020 had brought.

PA Mohamed Riyas, Minister for Public Works and Tourism, Government of Kerala, has emphasised that it is vitally important to straightaway work out strategies and implement them fast to reactivate tourism. A meeting is also expected to be held with State Level Bankers Committee to explore what top lenders can do to support the sector from a crisis that could eventually harm the whole economy of the state.

PA Muhammad Riyas is the new Tourism Minister of Kerala, who will also be handling portfolios of Public Works Department (PWD) and Youth Welfare. Riyas is a first time MP and is the national president of DYFI. At 45, he is one of the youngest ministers in the new Kerala cabinet, and has taken charge after the swearing-in ceremony held in presence of a limited gathering.