Tag Archives: Ministry of Tourism

Rupinder Brar, ADG, Ministry of Tourism has said that there is great concern at all relevant levels of MOT regarding SEIS, and they understand that it will be of great support to the industry. “Secretary, Tourism is himself leading all the discussions with the concerned officials, and we hope to get a positive news very soon on that,” she added.

Recognising the immense potential of rural tourism, Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has formulated a ‘Draft National Strategy and Roadmap for Development of Rural Tourism in India – An initiative towards Atmanirbhar Bharat’, which is driven by the spirit of Vocal4Local, revealed a recent tweet by MOT. The Ministry has been actively working on promotion & development of rural tourism, which can contribute significantly to the mission of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, added the tweet.

Since physical inspection of office premises of applicants cannot be undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism, they have given extension to the existing validity of the tour operators, travel agents and tourist transport operators up to 31.12.2021. It will also include the extended validity already given to such tour operators. However, this will be subject to the condition that they have submitted their complete application seeking renewal of their approval/recognition with the Ministry of Tourism. In an order, the MOT has announced that all agencies, whose validity expires (including extended validity) up to July, 2021 will be given extension of validity(approval/recognition) up to 31.12.2021 subject to the condition they have submitted their complete application for renewal. For agencies seeking fresh approval/recognition, they will be considered for giving provisional approval up to 31.12.2021 subject to submission of complete application fulfilling all the documentary requirements as mentioned in the guidelines issued by the Ministry. MOT also said that the status of all such cases will be reviewed from time to time as the situation required and suitable decision taken will be communicated accordingly.

South India Hotels & Restaurants Association (SIHRA) organised a vaccination camp for hoteliers, which was inaugurated at GRT Convention Centre, Chennai by Shri Venkatesan, Regional Director (South), Indiatourism. The camp received good response from all Chennai hoteliers. In a tweet, Ministry of Tourism gave special thanks to Chennai Corporation Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and all the Health Department officials for their support.

In a marathon session fielding member queries, Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI, urged everyone to register themselves on the Ministry of Tourism website. She said, “Agencies who don’t do this may not be allowed to call themselves a travel agent.” The association has also written to MoCA to help resolve matters with Air India bookings multiple times, and has sought an online appointment directly with the PM.

In its ongoing effort to strengthen the hospitality and tourism industry, especially in these times of a pandemic, Ministry of Tourism has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Cleartrip and EaseMyTrip. The tourism ministry says that more such MoUs will follow in the near future.

Ministry of Tourism is holding a mega tourism promotion event in Srinagar ‘Tapping the Potential of Kashmir: Another Day in Paradise’ from 11th-13th April. A high-level delegation, consisting of over 100 members from MOT, headed by Arvind Singh, Secretary Tourism, is visiting the Valley for a 4-day visit. On landing in the UT for the event, Singh inaugurated a 60 ft Shikara at Srinagar Airport. The delegation will hold meetings with the J&K administration, senior officers from the tourism department, as well as the travel and hospitality sector.

Pan-India domestic tourism revival initiative has been introduced in the form of India City Walks Festival™ (ICWF™). It is supported by United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Incredible India (Ministry of Tourism, Government of India). This initiative is in line with the ‘Vocal for Local’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ missions of Hon’ble Prime Minister. The focus of India City Walks Festival™ is on heritage, monuments, history, tradition and city sightseeing destinations for walks, storytelling sessions, events, and experiences both on-ground and virtual. The Festival is the initiative of India City Walks (ICW®), three-time National Award recipient and Hall of Fame award recipient operating under parent company City Explorers Private Limited. The India City Walks Festival™ is being organised, and on-boarding of locals is ongoing to register as Hosts. It begins with the curtain raiser walks (virtual and on-ground) in Delhi, Jaipur, Indore, Gwalior, Chandigarh, Agra and Varanasi. In February 2021, successful training and events took place in the state of Uttarakhand with Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board. More events in India City Walks Festival™ are lined up for March and April, 2021. India City Walks Festival™ (ICWF™) aims to take people on a journey of exploration around cities of India to reveal iconic locations and little-known facts and best-kept secrets. Join the biggest heritage and cultural festival of all times to celebrate your city and your neighbourhood. To register, fill the Google form: https://cutt.ly/submit-entry For more information, check https://www.indiacitywalks.com/festival/ or get in touch at +91 9899692790 | indiacitywalksfestival@gmail.com

Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of State, Ministry of Finance, in a written reply to Lok Sabha has said, “The closure of travel and tourism industry due to Covid-19 had a cascading effect on the livelihood of people dependent on tourism. Ministry of Tourism has engaged NCAER to conduct a study on ‘India and Coronavirus pandemic: Economic losses for household engaged in tourism and policies for recovery’.” he also stated that considering the challenges faced by tax-payers due to outbreak of covid-19, the government has taken several taxation measures to improve the liquidity in different sectors including tourism and hospitality.

Ashok Institute of Hospitality & Tourism Management (AIH&TM), a certified hospitality training institute under India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), has introduced a tailor-made program in ‘Entrepreneurship Development’ exclusively designed for graduates in the tourism & hospitality industry. The programme was formally inaugurated by Arvind Singh, IAS, Secretary (Tourism) at a webinar hosted by ITDC. Singh, said, “ITDC’s initiative to create entrepreneurs under its Entrepreneurship Development Programme is a very timely and welcome initiative with the support of Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) under their organizations namely National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology (NCHMCT) & National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD). All interested graduates, diploma holders, and professionals who have lost their jobs will be approached for enrolment under the programme. These are very tough times for the industry and we are working towards the revival of the sector. I wish the programme all success”. The webinar was convened by Shri. G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, IAS, C&MD, India Tourism Development Council (ITDC) and had in attendance eminent officials, including Atul Kumar Tiwari, IAS, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Neelam Shami Rao, IAS, DG, National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) and Gyan Bhushan, CEO ,National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology  (NCHMCT). Motivational talks and experiences were shared by Sh. Ritesh Aggarwal CEO, OYO Rooms & Sh. Abhinav Balyan, MD&CEO, Educator Extraordinaire Ltd. Under the ‘Entrepreneurship Development Programme’, graduates from hotel management institutes as well as recently unemployed and other experienced hospitality professionals would be provided with the non-financial support for running catering or hospitality-related establishments (canteen/café, Event Management, Manpower Services, Banquet services, …