Category Archives: States

In a bid to keep Kerala’s prime tourist spots plastic and garbage free, Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Co-operation and Devaswoms, Government of Kerala, launched the ‘Clean Kerala Initiative’ piloted by Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission in co-operation with stakeholders in the tourism sector. Flagging off the project and a two-day workshop at Chaithram Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram, he lauded the role of RT Mission in rejuvenating the tourism sector by promoting good practices. “If we want to attract tourists, we have to create beautiful and hygienic destinations. So, we have to effectively implement the plastic and garbage-free mission. Local bodies, by associating with RT, can play a vital role as we need scientific intervention by adopting paper bags, cloth bags, glass bottles, etc,” he said. Nine destinations – Kovalam, Munnar, Alappuzha, Kumarakom, Wayanad, Fort Kochi, Kollam, Thekkady, and Bakel have been identified for implementation of the new project in the first phase from a list of 21 destinations. The project will take these tourist centres to a Green certification platform by making them the focus of eco-friendly and responsible tourism activities. “The government’s policy is that the development of tourism will be ensured by giving priority to the interests of people and due consideration to the environment. One can’t ignore the tremendous impact created by RT Mission in achieving this goal,” the Minister pointed out.

The upcoming Tamil Nadu Travel Mart (TTM), scheduled from September 19-22, at Chennai Trade Centre, will have a parallel event- Tamil Nadu Medical Travel Mart, in association with Health Department Government of Tamil Nadu. The event will reiterate the importance of Tamil Nadu in the medical value travel sector. India has the finest and one of the largest pools of doctors and paramedics in South Asia, with many of them being of global repute. India’s expertise in highly specialized areas of organ transplants, orthopaedics, cardiology, oncology, neurology etc. has made the country an emerging hotspot for Medical Value Travel (MVT). The three-day conference and exhibition would also have B2B meetings. The two-day conference would focus on not only making Tamil Nadu as preferred Medical Tourism destination (In terms of safety, quality, cost and clinical excellence), but also health insurance; role of healthcare facilitator; role of Government to promote MVT; challenges in health Insurance & MVT; regulations in MVT (VISA Liberalisation Policy); importance of cultural competency / support services in international patient care (language, food, transport); and the future of telemedicine & MVT.

The Odisha Tourism department is working towards releasing a new tourism policy for the state by 2020, informed, VishalKumar Dev, Commissioner-cum-Secretary to Government, Tourist Department, Government of Odisha. He also said that the department is looking to aggressively promote water sports activities and recreational projects in the state as well as introducing houseboats at the popular tourist destinations like Chilika and Bhitarkanika. “The government is mulling out plans to revise the existing tourism policy, we will be ready with the new policy by next year. The government has been aggressively promoting water sports and recreational tourism in the state. We are laying focus on niche tourism segments such as houseboats tourism, which seamlessly mingles with ecotourism water recreation. We shall strive to synergize the various segments of water-based tourism as a sustainable segment. The state has embarked on a project to diversify its tourism offering by exploring the potential of its waterbodies, wetlands and coastline,” revealed Dev at the Odisha Tourism roadshow organised in Delhi. With the tourism sector contributing 13 per cent to Odisha’s GDP, the tourist inflow CAGR was recorded 9.1 percent during 2013 to 2017. The state government is expecting 2.4 crore tourist in 2020-21, up from 1.5 crore in 2018. Besides, the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP) has also proposed the government to start cruise service in Chilika Lake in association with Forest and Environment and Tourism department.

The Gujarat government is working to take out a heritage tourism policy, while focusing on attracting foreign tourists, said Jenu Devan, Managing Director & Commissioner of Tourism, Gujarat Tourism. He also said that the state has registered 14 per cent growth in the number of tourists in 2018-19. “In 2016-17, tourists’ inflow was 4.48 crore and the same went up to almost 5.8 crore in 2018-19. The annual growth rate was 14 per cent. With the trend of increasing tourists’ footfalls, we are expecting that tourist inflow should cross six crore in the current fiscal. About six lakh foreign tourists visit the state last year. The state is preparing a heritage tourism policy and approval for this will come shortly. At present, there are 33 heritage properties. With the implementation of the policy, more of such properties will come within tourism map” said Devan. He also said that two prominent tourist sites – Somnath and Dholavira – would be developed into iconic tourism destinations as a part of the Central government’s Swadesh Darshan Scheme.

Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) has reconstituted its board, under which it has appointed 12 directors. Dayanand Sopte, who is also one of the appointed directors, will continue to be the Chairman of GTDC, according to its Article of Association. Ashok Kumar is Secretary Tourism, Goa; Nikhil Desai remains the Managing Director; Sanjiv Gadkar is Tourism Director; and Savio Messais is the President, Travel and Tourism Association of Goa. Other appointed directors are: Shrikant Azgaonkar, Sudesh Sawant, Suchana Gadekar, Mohammad Modassir, Anand Khandeparkar, Vishwanath Tirodkar, Deepraj Prabhu.

Jaipur has been the latest Indian city to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage list, a feat that was announced at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Baku. Junhi Han, Chief, Culture Sector and Programme Specialist for Culture, UNESCO New Delhi Cluster Office for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka shared that in case of need, any World Heritage site can utilise World Heritage Funds for purpose of conservation, training to build capacity for management of WH site. She says, “The scale is not that big, can go up to $100,000 at several occasions. It shows solidarity of international community toward a World Heritage in need of such assistance. This happens only in case of need and only upon request, which will be examined also by UNESCO and Advisory committee to the convention.”

Odisha Tourism recently concluded its Mumbai roadshow where over 150 tour operators participated. The next leg of this roadshow will be held in various cities like Delhi, Kochi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad etc. Commissioner cum Secretary Vishal Dev highlighted key offerings of Odisha across segments such as heritage tourism, ecotourism, ethnic tourism, and spiritual tourism. He emphasised the importance of these segment in terms of enhancing the state’s global brand image.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with Tamil Nadu Travel Mart Society, supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Department of Tourism, Government of Tamil Nadu is organising the 2nd edition of CII Tamil Nadu Travel Mart to showcase the potential of Tamil Nadu’s tourism on a global platform from 19-22 September in Chennai. The registrations for the same have been opened. The three-day exhibition will witness more than 300 exhibitors showcasing tourism business opportunities in the state along with 1000 domestic and international buyers.

The tourism in Leh has seen a big decline, with numbers declining by over 50 per cent in 2019 as compared to last year, claim hospitality stakeholders in the region. The reason for the low numbers is because of Jet Airways grounding, Lok Sabha elections, safety situation in Kashmir and late opening of Leh-Manali road, according to reports. Zahoor Qari, Chairman, J&K Chapter—TAAI, however says that the situation is improving, saying, “There was a steep decline initially, but the situation is now improving and we are seeing a rise in numbers now going to Leh. Things have settled down and demand is increasing, and people are travelling to Ladakh in good numbers. We might not see a huge rise this year, but the situation is not bad.”

The Confederation of Indian Industry is organising the Seventh Edition of Kerala Health Tourism from 3-4 July at Hotel Le Meridien, Kochi. The Kerala Health Tourism will mainly have 3 components – an International Conference, Exclusive Medical Exposition and B2B Meeting. The event will provide an interactive platform during which practitioners and leading experts in the Medical Tourism sector will share, discuss and construct strategies for future growth and innovation. We are expecting to have more than 400 delegates for the conference (national & international) and above 1000 visitors for the exhibition. The Kerala Health Tourism 2019 will deliberate on the Importance of Cultural Competency in International Patient Care; Challenges In Healthcare Insurance & Medical Tourism; Medical Tourism Marketing : New Age Online Marketing / The Power of Public Relations; The Future of Telemedicine and Health; Specialised Treatments in Health Tourism – Sports, Dentistry, Eye care, Geriatrics; Role of Medical Facilitators in Medical Tourism; Using Technology to Power your Healthcare Business etc. There will be a Banquet Session on day 1 on “Health Tourism and way forward” by an eminent personality – apart from Inaugural Sessions and Valedictory sessions of the Summit.