Tag Archives: ADG

Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General (ADG), Ministry of Tourism will be repatriated to her parent cadre after a proposal of the Ministry of Tourism for her premature repatriation was approved on the grounds of availing the benefit of promotion in the cadre. Rupinder Brar joined the Ministry of Tourism in August 2019.

Rupinder Brar, ADG, Tourism, has said that since there is a lot of interest and curiosity post-COVID on wellness tourism, “MOT will be expanding our footprint and we are in the process of making many more creative, campaigns and getting a lot more digital presence through social media for creating awareness for these products, which are truly India’s strength.”

Rupinder Brar, ADG, Tourism, has said that MOT will be working very closely with both Ayush and Home Ministry to make sure that this visa gets enabled very fast. She also said, “As seen in the last few years, e-visa facility has grown for not just tourism but medical visa as well. It has only helped India forge its position in these sectors.”

Rupinder Brar, ADG, Tourism, has revealed that all three ministers of tourism will be leading the event at major sites on behalf of MOT. “Union Minister of Tourism G Kishan Reddy will be at the Anand Sagar Lake in Hyderabad and State Tourism Ministers Ajay Bhatt and Shripad Yesso Naik will be at Wagah Border in Punjab and Churches and Convents of Goa in Old Goa respectively.

Ministry of Tourism is planning a virtual event of about two hours on National Tourism Day on 25th January. Rupinder Brar, ADG, Tourism, shared, “G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism, Culture and DoNER will be the Chief Guest and Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism, will also be speaking in this online event. We have also invited Secretary, Culture; Secretary, Ministry of Textiles; Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change as well. The celebrations are a little low-key owing to Omicron spread across the country.”

Rupinder Brar, ADG, Tourism, has said that MOT is ready with a campaign that would focus on India being a safe destination and is ready to welcome travellers, and it will be launched very soon. “The content is ready, and the messaging will be both direct and indirect. One promotion will focus on India being vaccinated and the other will feature our hotels, hotel staff, cab drivers, airports, roads, shopping malls, etc. communicating that the country is safe to travel. Discussions with channels is done and we will be doing a soft launch on digital mediums initially.

Rupinder Brar (IRS), ADG, Tourism, speaking at a recent webinar on border tourism, appreciated the efforts taken by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for improving connectivity in Ladakh region. “Connectivity is the key for tourism anywhere in the world and especially in border areas. The role of Border Tourism in bringing local communities together is crucial in today’s time,” she says. She emphasised that there is a need for capacity building and skill development as it will help to scale up the quality of human resources while creating employment opportunities for the locals.

As the news of international borders and reinstating of e-visa has been announced, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has appointed tourism officers in 20 Indian missions abroad in a bid to boost overseas marketing and promotions. These officers were already posted in embassies in the countries where promotions will take place, revealed Rupinder Brar, ADG, Tourism.

Thanking the Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Tourism Minister for announcement of relief measures for the tourism sector and taking up issues concerning the industry, Rupinder Brar, ADG, Tourism, said, “We welcome the financial help for tourist guides and tour operators. It is also good that the recognised entities are being supported. The support that has come in terms of visa being announced free for the first 500,000 e-Tourist visas that will be applied for, will be a gamechanger. It sends a positive signal to the whole word that India is getting ready to open, the vaccination drive has picked up, number of cases are going down. Through this, we also want to send a message to the industry that please get recognised, so that you can be benefitted by any of the schemes of the government.”

Rupinder Brar, ADG, Tourism, has said that after the reopening of monuments, they will be promoting domestic tourism. “Just like last year, considering that domestic tourism will open first, the Dekho Apna Desh webinars, which have been temporarily put on hold, will also be restarted. As we get better inputs from local administrations as well as the central health ministry, we will be taking up more campaigns in the domestic markets.”