Category Archives: States

 Ministry of Development of North East Region organised two-day festival, North East Calling, which concluded in Delhi on September 9-10 that depicted the rich culture of North East. Dr. Jitendra Singh, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, inaugurated the festival. Singh also launched ‘North East Venture Fund’, a joint initiative of Ministry of DoNER and North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd, that seeks to promote entrepreneurship and start-ups in the region. The North East Tourism Development Council to promote sustainable tourism in North East India, was also launched. The event included showcase of rich cultural heritage of the North East, including music fest for bands of North East and a cultural night for the dancers as well. There were other contests like Know Your North East quiz contest, In the home chef contest and Beauty of North East photography contest. A B2B conference was also organised at the event to facilitate tourism in the North East region. PK Sinha, Cabinet Secretary, was the chief guest of the closing ceremony and N K Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Naveen Verma Secretary, Ministry of DoNER, and Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, were the other senior officials present. The event saw a huge participation from the public and the DoNER is planning to hold more such events in different parts of the country under the Destination North East Series. These events will promote the culture, art, heritage, tourism, business, cuisine and handicraft from the North East.

Kerala Tourism has announced the dates of the second edition of International Homestay and Rural Tourism Meet which will be organised by the Kerala Homestay and Tourism Society (HATS). The three-day event will kick start on September 15 in Kochi at Bolghatty Palace. 1500 participants are expected to attend the travel meet as the main objective of the event is to enhance the business opportunities in the state for homestay providers, serviced villas and Grihastelly providing a platform to network with industry players. International Homestay and Rural Tourism Travel Meet is one of the largest B2B events for homestays and rural tourism in the country which will also be attended by national and international tour operators, entrepreneurs and destination management companies. “Homestays are inevitable part of Kerala Tourism and helps the industry to connect with the travel enthusiasts. The B2B meet is expected to discuss recommendations to boost the rural tourism sector.” said P. Bala Kiran, IAS, Director, Kerala Tourism. During the B2B meet, potentials and challenges of the sector will also be discussed via seminars and discussions. This travel meet will also address the changing tourism industry trends and evolving needs of the travel enthusiasts, primarily younger generation, who want to experience the village life and hence prefer to visit rural parts of the country.

Gujarat has received an overwhelming response in terms of investment in tourism projects after it launched its Tourism Policy 2015-2020 in September 2015, according to Jenu Devan, Managing Director, and Commissioner of Tourism, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited. He says, “It has become a tremendous success. Till date, there are 220 applications for various tourism projects like hotels, resorts, amusement parks, etc. worth Rs 9,000 crore. So in the next few years, Gujarat is poised to have a fantastic tourism infrastructure for both the inbound and domestic tourists.” Gujarat received a total of 448 lakhs tourists during 2016-17. This was 16.9 per cent higher than the flow in 2015-16. The flow of tourists within Gujarat also increased with a 15 per cent growth. Speaking about the source markets in India and abroad, he adds, “We see the entire India as our source market. However, we get maximum traffic from our neighboring states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Internationally, UK tops the list followed by USA. We would like to receive more traffic from the South East Asian markets as they are short-haul destinations for India.”

Kadakampalli Surendran, Minister of Tourism, Government of Kerala, recently inaugurated the ‘Responsible Tourism Mission’ project, aimed at the development of local communities and growth of tourism in the state. The project comprises various Onam packages for tourists, which will be available till September 30, and will also integrate small enterprises run by the local communities and responsible tourism units. The packages range from Rs. 2000 to Rs. 8000, and are aimed to benefit the Kudumbasree units in the villages, weaving centres, homely meals enterprises and others. Through this project, tourists can enjoy travelling while participating in household Onam celebrations. On this occasion, Surendran said, “The government has allotted Rs. 4.5 crore for the new venture and all the projects executed by Responsible Tourism mission are aimed at the development of the local community. A human resource directory has been prepared to provide jobs to people across the state. Additionally, we have announced some special tour packages for this season during Onam, and we have received an overwhelming response in the initial phase itself.” “Started in 7 destinations, the project will be extended across the state in the coming season. Hitherto, as many as 126 households, 63 home stays and 34 restaurants have come forth for the package. Around 650 families across the seven destinations have registered to explore the feast Onasadya. Furthermore, we hosted around 170 international tourists and 146 domestic tourists under Onam packages of responsible tourism,” said P Balakiran, Director, Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala.

The Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, Jayakumar Jitendrasinh Rawal, met the delegates from Wakayama Prefecture to discuss tourism potential between the two countries. Also present at the event were other dignitaries like Vijay Waghmare, Managing Director, MTDC, and Aashutosh Rathod, Joint Managing Director, MTDC. The international delegates included Hiroyuki Tsui, Director General, International Planning Division, Wakayama Prefecture Government, and Onishi Tatsunori, International Planning Division, Wakayama Prefecture Government. The Japanese delegates from Wakayama Prefecture also explored the well-known Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat to see the traditional way of washing clothes.

The Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka, reportedly plans to promote tourism in the state through special tour packages for the Dussehra festival. The department, through its arm Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC), intends to launch the ‘Dasara Special Tour Package’ in the Golden Chariot, the only luxury tourist train in South India, run by KSTDC, to promote this state festival. The first trip will run from September 23 to 25, and the second from September 29 to October 1. The train will depart from and arrive at the Yeshwantpur railway station in Bengaluru. Priyank Kharge, Minister for Information Technology, Bio-Technology, Science and Technology and Tourism, Government of Karnataka, reportedly said, “This initiative of KSTDC provides an excellent opportunity to people to experience royalty on board, which would showcase the Nadahabba, the Mysuru Dasara and its grandeur.” KSTDC has also planned curated royal walks to allow guests to explore the heritage-rich city of Mysuru. Guests will be offered a gold pass to witness the Dasara and cultural programmes in front of an illuminated Mysuru Palace. Source: Hindu Business Line

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has launched special Ganesh Darshan tours for the devotees in Mumbai, Pune and Konkan region to celebrate 125 years of Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav. On this occasion, MTDC is promoting Ganpati mandals, which was started by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak in Mumbai. Ganesh Darshan tours will not only surge tourism in the state, but also give a chance to foreign and domestic travellers to be a part of the celebrations. The tours will include sighting of the most popular Ganesh pandals in Mumbai, including Lalbaug-cha-Raja, Ganesh Gully, GSB Mandal, Fort-cha-Raja, Fanaswadi Ganesha, Jitekarwadi Ganesha and Bramhansabha Ganesha. The tour will commence from Prabhadevi, from where dedicated 45-seater AC buses will take tourists on this devotional ride. These tours have started from August 26 and will continue till September 5, 2017.

Looking to establish Delhi as a prime tourist destination, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in association with Delhi Tourism, held an interactive conference at the PHD House, New Delhi. The deliberations focused on the various OUVs (Outstanding Universal Values) that the city possesses and the various measures, including policy matters, that are needed to bring forth Delhi as a destination rich in history, culture and various forms of art, as well as a political and business destination. Speaking at the occasion, Guest of Honour, Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Tourism, Art, Culture and Language, Government of Delhi, said, “Tourism is not just about successful branding; we need massive collaborations to create, manage and sell efficiently. The impetus should be on creating circuits, infrastructure and activities to extend the average length of stay of a tourist.” From adding dimensions in order to better practice heritage conservation to introducing a heritage-centric strategy to reinvent the ecosystem of the city, the conference discussed about a makeover of the city that would augment tourism in the city and strengthen the overall economic framework of the city in the process. The forum also laid stress on the need for more result-oriented heritage projects and for synergies to be created between private and public players to establish the image of Delhi as a modernised city rooted in the history and culture of its people.

The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board has reportedly approved new infrastructure projects worth Rs 1,000 crore in Malabar region. According to Tourism Minister of Kerala, Kadakampally Surendran, the state is putting all efforts to leverage tourism to the Malabar region including five districts of Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Kasargod and Wayanad. Surendran reportedly pointed that though a million foreign travellers and 13.1 million domestic tourists visit Kerala every year, only about a sixth of them visit the scenic Malabar and the government plans to change this with its efforts. He reportedly said that the travel destinations in Malabar will be developed in keeping with the best international tourism norms. With a new airport in Kannur about to open, the state is now installing the infrastructure to put Malabar on the global tourism map. “Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) will set up a four-star hotel in Kozhikode and three other star hotels in Bekal beach, Muzhupilangad beach and Kannur airport,” he reportedly said. The state has urged the private players to invest in Malabar. V Venu, Principal Secretary-Tourism, reportedly said that the government is negotiating hospitality projects with a number of global brands. “We’ll fill the (infrastructure) gaps with our tourism development funds,” he said. Source: India Today

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has taken steps to rebrand tourism in Maharashtra with the launch of its new logo “म” for the Visit Maharashtra Campaign. The logo was unveiled by Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, in the presence of Jaykumar Jitendrasinh Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra. Fadnavis said, “We are very happy to announce the launch of the new logo “म” Visit Maharashtra to promote the state tourism prospects worldwide. Maharashtra has an incredible potential to become the most preferred destinations for both domestic and international tourists. We are planning to organise ‘Mumbai Mela’ from December 21 to January 8, 2018, to engage with domestic and international tourists. ‘Mumbai Mela’ will offer a huge platform to various segments to explore their offerings to the tourists. I believe, this new logo of Visit Maharashtra Campaign will push Maharashtra on the global map and create Brand Maharashtra as a popular tourist destination.”