Tag Archives: Minister of Tourism

Assam Government has allocated Rs 15 crore to ‘Awesome Assam’ brand. “Tourism will be promoted as ‘Awesome Assam’ with Rs. 15 crore allocated for publicity focusing on the one-horned rhino, Assam Tea and the mighty Brahmaputra,” said Himanta Biswa Sarma, Minister of Tourism, Government of Asssam. A new logo of Assam Tourism has also been launched. Sarma informed that aggressive publicity will be carried out outside the state with a single-window clearance policy being initiated for issuing permission to shoot films in Guwahati. In order to harness the tourism potential of tourist attractions like Kamakhya Temple and Majuli river island, the government has sanctioned Rs 33 crore for the development of infrastructure of Kamakhya. Sarma also revealed that PSUs like ONGC, OIL, NHPC and others have also expressed interest to invest in the tourism sector as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and under the Swadesh Darshan scheme, the Centre has allocated Rs 120 crore for the five national parks in the state. Sarma invited ideas and plans for the development of tourism and informed that the state will develop tourism through partnership with the people.

A delegation from Wakayama Prefectural Government, Japan, met Jayakumar Jitendrasinh Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, on August 8, 2016, in Mumbai to renew the MoU between Wakayama Prefectural Government (WPG) and the Government of Maharashtra that was signed in October 2013. As part of the MoU, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is funding the Ajanta – Ellora Development Phase 3 and showcasing their full support towards development of tourism in Maharashtra. The MoU also highlights the joint efforts of both parties to enhance mutual economic growth, promote agro and food processing between local enterprises through existing framework that the both the Governments have established. Jayakumar Jitendrasinh Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, said, “The renewal of the MoU term and this association will help increase tourism inflow in Maharashtra and Wakayama through the agreement. It has been a great platform for us to increase our global footprint and put Maharashtra on a World map. It has strengthened bilateral trade between India and Japan and has mutually benefitted these two countries to strengthen their respective tourism prospects. I propose the establishment of a Japanese village near Ajanta-Ellora to further attract tourist footfalls from Japan and welcome our Japanese brothers with better warmth and hospitality. Would like to offer land for the establishment of this village. We must also organise special Japanese tours in Maharashtra.” The Minister also invited the Japanese delegation to attend the planned Buddhist Conference in Aurangabad in October. Wakayama Prefecture delegation proposed their plans to promote Ajanta Visitor Centre and a clean-up camp at the World heritage site with locals at Ajanta.

A national conference is going to be held jointly by IATO, TAAI, TAFI, ATOAI, FHRAI, and ICPB, on January 10, 2017. Subhash Goyal, Immediate Past President, IATO, informed that he has been elected as the Chairman of the Conference which will be called ‘Incredible India Calling’. Goyal also said, “We have requested the honourable Minister of Tourism to write to the Prime Minister to finalise the date. We are expecting around 15,000-20,000 people to attend the conference which will be the mother of all conferences. We hope it to be a grand success.”

Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) website will be made into an online booking portal to allow tour operators and tourists to sell and book packages to Goa at discounted rates. Private tour operators will be provided a login ID which will allow them to load their packages into the system and sell them based on commission rates, built into the portal. “We will be the first tourism board to launch such a service. A tourist can combine various activities with the packages like hot air balloon ride, paragliding, bungee jumping amongst other new products on the website, making Goa a 365-day destination. Even though we own the new product offerings, the services will be offered by the private sector where we will only be the facilitator and hand hold them for proper delivery,” said Nikhil Desai, Managing Director, GTDC. Goa Tourism is expecting at least 400,000 tourists to visit the state over three days during Goa Carnaval from February 6-9, 2016, Desai said during a press conference in New Delhi. Dilip Parulekar, Goa Tourism Minister, was also present. Parulekar said, “Goa Carnaval is one-of-a-kind event and people come from all over the globe. While the spirit of this celebration is contagious, we have taken into account aspects of safety, security and cleanliness which will ensure that the celebration is a truly memorable one.”