Tag Archives: Manipur

G Kishan Reddy, Cabinet Minister, Tourism & Culture, met with ML Khattar, CM, Haryana, where they discussed several matters pertaining to the overall development of tourism in the state & propagation of its cultural heritage. Also, he met Oinam Lukhoi Singh, Minister of Tourism, Manipur, and deliberated on key issues in improving tourism in the state of Manipur.

The IATO Executive Committee recently reviewed and restructured the IATO Regional and the State Chapters to expand its wings and strengthen its membership base in Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Dadra, Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu. In continuation, IATO has further expanded its wings by appointing Co-Chairman and in-charge in various states and union territories. Rajasthan being a large state with a strong membership basis was considered to have a Co-chairman and Mahendra Singh of Holidays N Vacations, Jaipur has been appointed as Co-Chairman of Rajasthan. It was for a long time in the mind of IATO EC to have a Co-Chairman of Uttar Pradesh who should be based in Varanasi, keeping in view the importance of Varanasi as a big tourist attraction,  both for international and domestic tourists and Bhuvanendra Vikram Singh of Prime Value Tours Pvt. Ltd has been given this responsibility. Sikkim being a prime tourist destination needed a Co-Chairman, keeping in view the distance between North Bengal and Sikkim.  Namgyal P Sherpa of Namgyal Treks & Tours, Gangtok has been appointed as co-chairman to assist the Chairman of Sikkim and North Bengal Chapter who is based in Siliguri, Darjeeling. Similar is the case of Andaman & Nicobar and Mohamed Jadwet has been appointed as Co-Chairman in Andaman & Nicobar to assist the Chairman based in Chennai. Besides the above, two-state in-charge have been appointed in Manipur & Tripura to assist Chairman of IATO North East Chapter and H Radhakrishna Sharma, of Seven Sisters Holidays and Soumen Dutta of Hindustan Tour & Travels have been appointed State In-Charge of Manipur and Tripura respectively. Rajiv Mehra, President of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) expressed his happiness and mentioned …

Ministry of Tourism (MOT), has sanctioned Rs 1,400 crore worth projects in the eight northeastern states in the past five years under Swadesh Darshan scheme, revealed Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel. Of Rs 1,400 crore, Rs 896 crore were released for a total of 16 projects, he added. Of this, two projects each were for Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura. The projects included heritage development of Tezpur-Majuli-Sibsagar in Assam, wildlife tourism in Assam (development of Manas-Probitora-Nameri-Kaziranga-Dibru-Saikhowa), eco-tourism in Mizoram (development of Aizawl-Rawpuichhip-Khawhphawp-Lengpui-Durtlang-Chatlang-Sakawrhmuituaitlang-Muthee-Beratlawng-Tuirial air field-Hmuifang), tribal affairs (two projects) in Nagaland, (development of Mokokchung-Tuensang-Mon and Peren-Kohima-Wokha), and spiritual tourism in Manipur (development of Shri Govindajee Temple, Shri Bijoy Govindajee Temple-Shri Gopinath Temple-Shri Bungshibodon Temple-Shri Kaina Temple). Patel said the Union Home Ministry (MHA) had declared Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim as partly protected area and partly restricted area.

K J Alphons, Union Minister for Tourism has inaugurated the project ‘Development of Eco Circuit: Pathanamthitta – Gavi – Vagamon – Thekkady’ under the Swadesh Darshan scheme of Ministry of Tourism in the presence of K Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Government of Kerala at Vagamon in Kerala. This Eco Circuit project was sanctioned in December 2015 for Rs 76.55 crores.  Major works carried out under the project includes Eco Adventure Tourism Park at Vagamon, Cultural Centre at Kadamanitta, Eco Log Huts at Peerumedu, Idukki, Approach Roads, walking trails, rain shelters at Pine Valley Forest, Thekkady, Kumily, Moozhiyar Dam, Penstock and Kakki Dam. Swadesh Darshan scheme is one of the flagship schemes of Ministry of Tourism for development of thematic circuits in the country in a planned and prioritised manner. Under this scheme the Government is focussing on development of quality infrastructure in the country with objective of providing better experience and facilities to the visitors on one hand and on other hand fostering the economic growth. The scheme was launched in 2014 -15 and as on date the Ministry has sanctioned 77 projects worth projects for Rs. 6131.88 crore to 30 states and UTs. 30 projects / major components of projects are expected to be completed during the current financial year, of which 12 projects worth Rs 1024.49 crore, covering the states of Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh Kerala and Sikkim have already been inaugurated. The Ministry of Tourism recognising the tourism potential of the state has sanctioned seven projects in Kerala under the Swadesh Darshan and PRASHAD schemes for an approximate amount of Rs 550 crores.

Manipur Tourism recently organised a curtain-raiser of the upcoming Manipur Sangai Festival at Select Citywalk in Delhi. Officials from Manipur Tourism along with its stakeholders shared updates on the ongoing preparations for the largest tourism festival of the state scheduled to be held from November 21-30. Famous personalities from the state including Mary Kom, MP, Rajya Sabha and Padma Bhushan Awardee; Sarita Laishram, former World Boxing Champion; and P Kenedy Singh, former Indian Football Captain promoted the event in the city. Dr Sapam Ranjan Singh, Chairman, Tourism Corporation of Manipur stated that the festival will be inaugurated in Imphal on November 21, while two other districts Bishnupur and Senapati will also play host to the festival and have a line-up of events ranging from half-marathon, water sports and trekking to other adventure activities. The festival takes its name from the state’s unique, shy and gentle brow-antlered Sangai Deer. The Sangai Deer is found only in Manipur’s floating Keibul Lamjao National Park at Loktak lake.

Dr Najma A Heptulla, Governor of Manipur, has recently inaugurated the project ‘Development of North East Circuit: Imphal & Khongjom’ implemented under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India in the presence of N Biren Singh, Chief Minister of Manipur; K J Alphons, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism and Rashmi Verma, Union Tourism Secretary in Imphal at a function held at Kangla Fort. Speaking on the occasion, Heptulla drew the attention of Government of India on the huge potential of the tourism industry of the state which comes in the form of culture, sports, arts, eco, histor, handloom and handicrafts. Alphons, in his speech, congratulated the Government of Manipur for its commendable work in tourism sector of the state and suggested to come up with even more brighter projects and express his willingness to be generous on the projects to be taken up in North East. Singh, in his remarks, has proposed for three more projects for development and strengthening of eco, ethnic and sports tourism at Loktak Lake, Mapithel Dam and Shadu Chiru. He also expressed his happiness on the progress of Kangkhui cave tourism project. The project under inauguration was sanctioned by the Ministry of Tourism in September 2015 for Rs 72.30 crores. The project covers two sites, namely, Kangla Fort and Khongjom.

In an effort to encourage more Indian travellers to visit Israel, the Embassy of Israel in India has opened a Kolkata Israel Visa Application Centre for West Bengal and Northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. Additionally, visa applications in jurisdiction under the New Delhi centre are also acceptable at the new Kolkata Centre. The visa application categories include B1 for employment, B2 for business, tourism, meeting or conference and A2 for students. Commenting on the new opening, Hassan Madah, Director, Israel Ministry of Tourism – India & Philippines said, “Israel is experiencing a tourism boom like never before. India has recorded a half yearly growth of 82% as compared to the same period in 2015 and has become one of the best performing markets in Asia for Israel. The new centre in Kolkata will no longer require residents from West Bengal and Northeastern states to send in their documents to the Embassy in New Delhi.” Among other initiatives, Israel recently announced a reduction in visa fees to Rs 1,100 from its previous Rs 1,700 charge for Indian citizens. In December last year, relaxed visa documentation was brought in for applicants who have availed visas of Schengen countries, US, Canada, Australia or Israel and have completed their travel to these destinations. Madah added, “The Ministry of Tourism will be conducting a roadshow in Kolkata on August 29 to increase interest for the destination among consumers and trade fraternity.”

In a bid to attract investors across the industry, a number of state tourism boards presented their ideas and prospect on tourism in their respective states during the 4th Tourism Investors Meet held at FICCI, Federation House, New Delhi. The tourism boards of West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Manipur gave detailed presentations on how their state provides lucrative opportunities to investors. Each presentation counted on their USP and explained about the incentives and concessions provided by the respective state governments. The first presentation was given by the meet’s Theme State West Bengal Tourism which stressed on developing the state as an ‘ecotourism hub’. This was followed by a presentation by Partner State Rajasthan Tourism which focused on promoting heritage location and properties in the state. It also talked about opportunity of growth for adventure sports and MiCE in the state. Feature State Gujarat Tourism stressed on providing attractive incentives to investors with last mile connectivity for travellers in the state. The final presentation was given by Feature State Manipur Tourism. Highlighting the state’s rich culture and resources, the presentation talked about the prospect of developing Manipur as a ‘tourism hub’. The main focus was on Loktak lake, the largest fresh water lake in the Northeast.

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in association with the North East states and West Bengal is organising the ‘International Tourism Mart’ in Imphal, Manipur from November 23–25, 2016. 57 Buyer delegates from ASEAN, Japan, Korea, Australia,  New Zealand, Spain, Russia, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, Kenya, Oman, Canada, Brazil , South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, United Kingdom and USA are participating in the Mart.The event is being held in the City Convention Centre, Sanjenthong, Imphal, Manipur and will be inaugurated on November 24, by Okram Ibobi Singh, Chief Minister of Manipur in the presence of Union Tourism Secretary Vinod Zutshi and other dignitaries from North East states. Besides the foreign delegates, 80 domestic stakeholders in Tourism sector from other parts of the country including sellers from the North Eastern States and West Bengal are participating in the Mart. Representatives of State Tourism Departments of these State Tourism Departments are also present to showcase their tourism destinations and to interact with the delegates. The annual event is organised in the northeastern region with the objective of highlighting the tourism potential of the region in the domestic and international markets. Buyer and Media delegates from around the world and from different regions of the country are participating in the Mart and will engage in one-to-one meetings with sellers from the North East Region. This will enable the tourism product suppliers from the region to reach out to international and domestic buyers, with the objective of promoting tourism to the region. An exhibition by State Tourism Departments from the North Eastern States and West Bengal is also being organised   to show case the tourism products of respective participating States. Post-mart familiarisations to …