Category Archives: States

Rubbishing rumours that all tourism activity in Kerala has been banned till November 2020, Baby Mathew Somatheeram, President, Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), has said that the situation in Kerala is expected to become normal by the end of the second phase of the lockdown. “The state is now making all preparations to receive tourists once the country becomes COVID-free. Kerala Tourism is drawing up ambitious plans to attract domestic tourists in a big way.” KTM denies reports that all tourism activity in Kerala has been banned till October – November this year in view of COVID-19 outbreak, asserting that the State Government has not come out with any such instruction. “Certain quarters are spreading this false propaganda by misinterpreting the positive suggestion made by State Finance Minister Dr TM Thomas Isaac that efforts to revive tourism in the state should start now itself. It is significant that the Finance Minister has also noted that the experience of the foreign tourists, who have recovered from COVID-19 by receiving effective treatment in Kerala itself will boost the state’s tourism prospects in the coming days,” he added.

Kerala Tourism, in its latest video, is urging its followers to ‘take a trip home’ and ‘travel later’ by using local cooking as an alternative. The video states, “Is your heart craving for soft, piping hot Ramasseri idli? when you have all the time in the world, why not try your hand at cooking them from the comfort of your home.” The video uses a snippet from an earlier video, which shows a lady from Ramassery Idli Kada, Palakkad, preparing their famous Ramassery idli, using a traditional method.

The Delhi government has announced a Rs100-crore scheme to introduce the national capital as a tourism brand to domestic and foreign tourists and create news jobs in the sector. Presenting the Budget in the Delhi Assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said Delhi has the resources to become the country’s tourism capital. “But due to lack of branding and information, most tourists take Delhi as a transit point, because of which tourists coming to Delhi spend (only) a day on an average here. Whereas, in cities like London, Singapore and Tokyo, a tourist spends three days on an average,” he said. A tourist visiting Delhi should spend at least two days on an average. Only a difference of a day will create millions of new jobs and opportunities for economic growth, Sisodia said. Under the new scheme “Branding Delhi”, Delhi tourism will be re-branded and the city will be introduced as a tourism brand in the country and abroad to domestic and foreign tourists, he said. The AAP government also proposed “Campaign for Communal Harmony” in the wake of the recent violence in northeast Delhi that left 53 dead and over 200 injured. “The government is working towards making the national capital”s dynamic structure an important part of Delhi”s tourism. Last year, we celebrated Diwali in an environment-friendly manner without bursting firecrackers and organised a laser show with cultural activities. It was widely appreciated,” he said. ‘Delhi Ki Diwali’ will be celebrated this year too. Also, a new festival called “Purvanchal Utsav” is proposed to be celebrated, the deputy chief minister said. Source: PTI

Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot has written to PM Modi demanding a relief package for those affected by the economic impact of COVID-19 on the tourism and hospitality industry. In a statement, Gehlot said that there is an unemployment crisis for 29 lakh families and demanded for a unemployment allowance as well. He also sought GST payment waiver or postponement for tourism & hospitality industry and MSMEs. The Rajasthan government has already announced the reimbursement of SGST for the state’s tourism and hospitality industry. The CM has also written a letter to the Finance Minister and urged to address the crisis being faced by the state’s tourism & hospitality industry.

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang has banned the entry of foreign and domestic tourists into the state and shut down public places such as educational institutes till April 15 in view of novel coronavirus outbreak. He also appealed to the people of Sikkim to avoid travelling outside the state unless it is an emergency. There will be a complete ban on visits of even domestic tourists in Sikkim, the chief minister said, adding a notification in this regard will be issued on Tuesday. The Himalayan state is a favourite destination of both domestic and foreign tourists. Over 1.33 lakh foreigners visited Sikkim in 2019, while nearly 12 lakh Indians visited the state till September last year, according to government data. The Tourism Guest House at Rangpo will be converted to a quarantine centre and similar arrangements will be made at Melli, he said. All government and private schools, colleges and universities and public places such as discos, casinos, gyms, fairs and festivals will remain closed till April 15, the chief minister said after a high-level meeting in Gangtok. Students should stay put in Sikkim and refrain from travelling outside even if it means travelling to their home states, Tamang said. He asked people to take these decisions positively as nothing is more important than public health and life.   PTI “Sikkim is fortunate to have not a single case of coronavirus, but we should continue to take all precautionary measures,” the chief minister said. Tamang said the authorities concerned have been directed to store all essential commodities to avoid any shortage in future.

According to HVS India Hospitality Overview 2019, Chandigarh recorded the highest growth in RevPAR (12.3%) in 2019. However, Mumbai continued to record the highest RevPAR of ₹6,464 in 2019. The report also states that Goa and Bengaluru remain the top markets for brand signings. However, increasing supply poses a concern for the Goa hotel market performance in the near future.

Recording the highest growth rate in domestic and total tourist arrivals in 24 years, Kerala attracted around 1.96 crore domestic and foreign visitors in 2019, registering a healthy growth of 17.2 per cent as compared to the figures in the previous year. The total earnings from tourism stood at Rs 45,010.69 crore, notching a robust 24.14 per cent increase. The total number of tourists was pegged at 1,95,74,004, of whom there were 1,83,84,233 domestic tourists and 11,89,771 visitors from abroad. In 2018, the number of tourists visiting Kerala was 1,67,01,068 (domestic tourists 1,56,04,661 and foreign tourists 10,96,407).

S.C. Gupta, Chief Secretary, Sikkim, chaired a meeting at Tashiling Secretariat to review and discuss preparedness and action plan for any possible coronavirus outbreak in the State following reports of confirmed cases of a novel coronavirus in some parts of the country. The meeting has decided to suspend all Inner Line Permits (ILPs) issued to visit Sikkim until further notice. The concerned department has been directed to network the information to all stakeholder organisations and offices. The Tourism Department has been directed to monitor the maintenance of registers by owners of hotels, homestays and lodge for travellers of both Indian and Foreign Nationals with their contact details for surveillance purpose. Likewise, the Education Department has been asked to conduct awareness sessions on coronavirus in every school in the State.

To help tourists from Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has got signages put up in Sanchi in Sinhalese language, which is the native language of the island nation, revealed Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C), Tourism & Culture. He says, “Majority of Sri Lankan tourists go to Sanchi, and there we have put up signages in Sinhalese language within 7 days. As a result, we got appreciation within the country as well as in Sri Lanka. Those who are less educated and do not know the language other than Sinhalese, got a chance to read things in their language, which made them feel relieved as well as proud. This is an example would only help us in working in the future. Wherever we have one lakh or more tourists coming, who are not comfortable in Hindi and English, we can offer the signages in their languages and make it easy for them.”

Madhya Pradesh, the Tiger State of India, has reiterated its focus on wild-life tourism and strengthening its ongoing efforts towards combating the threats of climate change by focusing on wildlife conservation and upliftment of forest dwellers. The state will also be focusing on creating favourable conditions for the conservation of tigers especially the endangered Bengal Tiger and the rare White Tiger. Madhya Pradesh ranks first in the country with 526 tigers as per the results of the All India Tiger Assessment declared on July 29, 2019. The state has six tiger reserves (combining parts of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries) namely Kanha, Pench, Satpura, Bandhavgarh, Panna and Sanjay. The state also plans to create around 11 new protected areas within the state from the current numbers of 24 wildlife sanctuaries and 11 national parks. The new areas, covering over 2,100 sq. km, represent perhaps the largest addition of protected areas attempted by any state in the past three decades. According to Faiz Ahmed Kidwai (IAS), Secretary Tourism, Govt of Madhya Pradesh and Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board, “Madhya Pradesh is referred to as wildlife state of India with numerous sanctuaries and reserves. At a time where the numbers of many animal species are declining, Madhya Pradesh has played a pivotal part in India’s wildlife conservation programs. As the World Wildlife Day approaches on 3rd March, we would like to reiterate our commitment to protecting endangered wildlife, specially tigers through a scientific, planned and people-centric approach with strict enforcement guidelines and team support.” “From preserving tiger population, to being the state with the highest leopard, vultures and gharial (an endemic crocodile species) population to having successfully increased the population of …