Tag Archives: Madhya Pradesh

Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) concluded its first online members’ meet on March 31, which was attended by close to 100 members from across the country, including Kerala, Assam, Ladakh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The meeting, moderated by Capt. Swadesh Kumar, President, ATOAI and Vinayak Koul, Hony. Secretary, ATOAI, helped members and the Association share constructive ideas to survive in present times. Members also got a chance to share their experiences. The keynote speaker for the meeting, Nakul Anand, Chairman, FAITH, briefed members on various topics related to the COVID-19 crisis and explained that the strategy going forward should broadly be divided in two phases – phase-I being survival and phase-II being revival. He also informed members about the various efforts of FAITH for the tourism industry.

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 …

Former Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani has been reappointed Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Air India. Lohani headed the carrier from August 2017 to September 2017 when he was moved to the Railway Board as the chairman, from where he retired in December 2018. It was during his tenure that Air India made its first operating profit of ₹105 crore in FY17 since the merger of Indian Airlines and Air India in 2007. Touted as the ‘Turnaround specialist’, Lohani’s appointment will be crucial after Air India’s failed divestment attempt last year. This year, the government has already decided to transfer over Rs 29,000 crore of AI’s huge Rs 55,000 debt to a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), along with the airline’s assets like real-estate and other subsidiaries of Air India. Lohani succeeds the 1985-batch Karnataka cadre IAS Pradeep Singh Kharola, who earlier this month was appointed as the Civil Aviation Secretary following the superannuation of RN Choubey. Source: PTI

The government has urged the US to ‘withdraw or modify’ its advisory against travelling in India, which was issued after Zika cases were reported in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, saying the outbreak has subsided. Last month, US Government’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention had taken out an advisory for pregnant women against travelling to the two states in India to avoid Zika risk. Raising concern over the advisory, Dr Balram Bhargava, Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research, said it has created an impression that the outbreak of the disease is still continuing. “I wish to bring to your attention that Zika virus outbreak in both Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have now subsided completely. There are no reports of fresh cases and vector indices are also well within acceptable limits. I urge you to take up the matter with the concerned authorities at CDC and withdraw/modify the travel advisory,” Dr Bhargava said in the letter. The withdrawal of advisory is crucial, especially in the inbound season.  

With its focus on adventure tourism by combining marketplace, meetings and networking opportunities, nearly 200 delegates took part at the first-ever ongoing ‘AdventureNEXT’ in Bhopal, also including participants from abroad. Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism; Swadesh Kumar, President, ATOAI and Akshay Kumar, Chairman, AdventureNEXT committee graced the event. The convention was witnessed by global buyers, international/national media representatives, sellers and office bearers of the Adventure Tour Operators Association, hotels, hospitality and tour operators who came to expand their knowledge spectrum and itinerary offerings. Speaking on the occasion, Hari Ranjan Rao (IAS), Principal Secretary — Tourism and Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board, said, “Madhya Pradesh is truly honoured and privileged for being the ever first host of AdventureNEXT in Asia. We thank ATTA and all the international buyers, felicitators, media and national delegates who came together to make this event a grand success. The AdventureNEXT not only brought together the networking sessions, but it also gave a unique definition to the hidden treasures of adventure tourism in India. With this, we focus to promote the adventure travel aspect with full pace in Madhya Pradesh as well”. Shannon Stowell, CEO, AdventureNEXT, Adventure Travel Trade Association, said, “We were honoured and proud to present the world AdventureNEXT’18 with MP tourism. The extraordinary variety of adventure travel Madhya Pradesh preserves is worth experiencing. AdventureNEXT captured India’s religious heritage, mythological, historical, wildlife and beautiful architectural spots clubbed with physical activities and journals for the attendees. This is just the beginning, ATTA also plans to introduce more tours which are adventure-driven panning across the unexplored exploratory destinations of India.”  

Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board (MPTB) highlighted the state’s historical monuments and cultural heritage through its participation at India Tourism Mart (ITM) recently held at The Ashok New Delhi. The focus was to showcase and revive the fast-growing tourism sector of Madhya Pradesh. The stall of MPTB was visited by industry influencers, travel enthusiasts, corporate, business heads, travel operators and media professionals from different corners of the city to exchange views and opinions on Madhya Pradesh Tourism. MPTB is going to organise two major events in Bhopal this year – Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart from October 5-7 and Adventure NEXT from December 3-5. The former is organised by ATTA in collaboration with MPTB in association with ATOAI. ATTA has chosen Madhya Pradesh because of its adventure-friendly destinations and efforts of MPTB to promote adventure tourism in the state. As quoted by the officials of MPTB, “Madhya Pradesh is flourished with historic marvels, home of wildlife animals and warm people. It is also called the tiger state of India. We expect major inbound tourist footfall mainly from UK. If you look at the statistics, a lot of international destinations like Switzerland, Singapore are now filled with Indian tourists. So if Indians are willing to go abroad and see destinations of the world, why not explore our own country. So we are having a balanced approach in all the sectors of tourism such as adventure, wildlife, heritage and many more.”

In a curtain raiser event held in New Delhi, the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has announced that it will host ‘AdventureNEXT’ in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh from December 3-5, 2018. The event is organised by Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA). The curtain raiser saw in presence Hari Ranjan Rao, MD, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board; Gergana Nikolova, Regional Manager – Europe, ATTA; Jake Finifrock, Regional Director – Asia, ATTA; and Swadesh Kumar, President ATOAI. Rao said, “India has been a great destination in terms of adventure travel. We are grateful to ATTA that it agreed to come to India and bring so many partners from other parts of the world. I am also grateful to ATOAI who have been at the forefront to take this event forward.” Organised for the first time in Asia, AdventureNEXT is known for putting emerging adventure destinations on the world tourism map. Finifrock added, “ATTA is a member organisation that is made up of over 1300 members throughout the world. We like to provide opportunities to people to come together to learn from one another, to inspire one another, to have more opportunities to network and grow the adventure travel community. It’s not only an event for Madhya Pradesh but also for all adventure travel across India. We are expecting around 300-350 delegates to attend Adventure Next. Many of these will be international buyers who will come to see travel products available in India.”

Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) will host its first event in Asia—Adventure Next in Madhya Pradesh from December 10-12, 2018. The event is set to bring together all stakeholders of the adventure travel trade from across the globe. With support from Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI), this event will showcase the adventure tourism potential of India. Commenting on the same, Hari Ranjan Rao, Principal Secretary Tourism, Madhya Pradesh Tourism says, “Adventure Next is one of the most important events of ATTA. ATTA has been one of the most front running associations in the adventure travel space across the world, hosting notable events for this segment and we hope to make their visit in India successful in Madhya Pradesh.” Madhya Pradesh, ATOAI and ATTA also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to mark the launch of this event in India. Capt. Swadesh Kumar, President, ATOAI further says, “We are very happy that Ministry of Tourism has declared 2018 as the Year of Adventure and we are going to make use of this opportunity to the fullest. Adventure Next is one such initiative where we are bringing the global adventure travel industry to India.”

Considering the tourism potential of Bargi, Jabalpur Tourism Promotional Council (JTPC) is organising the first edition of Jheel Mahotsav from December 21 to January 1, 2018. The 12-day festival, taking place at Bargi Dam built on Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh, will witness water sports activities from leisure cruising to jet skiing. Folk dance performances and melodious music by renowned bands reflecting the culture of Madhya Pradesh, all form a part of Jheel Mahotsav.

Jal Mahotsav will take place from October 15, 2017, to January 2, 2018. Organised for a period of 80 days, the festival is held in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh with an aim to revive adventure tourism in the state. The activites include zip lining, paintball, archery, kite flying, land parasailing, paramotors, hot air ballooning, water parasailing, water zorbing, snorkelling and scuba diving among others.