Tag Archives: Ministry of Tourism

Ministry of Tourism has streamlined the hotel classification guidelines to make them simple, transparent and time bound. The application for classification and payments of fees have been made through digital platform only, ensuring the eradication of possibility of delay or manipulation caused by human interference. The recent amendments have included a time limit of three months, thus removing any discretion in the matter. This will ensure a time bound compliance and speedy disposal of cases. The amendments have made it clear that liquor shops in the premises of the hotel other than bars will not be considered for classification under star hotels “with alcohol” category, to remove any ambiguity. It has been made mandatory for all the hotels classified under all categories to display their classification status prominently at the reception and on their websites under a separate icon on the opening page, which will display the order of classification issued by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. The amendments have included a detailed timeline within which the classification has to be completed. In every case where the required documents and procedures are fulfilled, the classification will be completed within 90 days.

The first ever Adventure Sports Expo Asia is going to be held in New Delhi from January 27-29 at Four Points by Sheraton. As many as 15000 visitors and sports enthusiasts are expected to attend the show. Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, informed that the government has declared 2018 as the Year of Adventure and the ministry is going all out to promote the country as an important hub for adventure tourism. Ajeet Bajaj, Senior Vice President, Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) and the Managing Director of Snow Leopard Adventures, said, “The mission behind the Expo is bringing together all stakeholders to make India an adventure powerhouse while keeping risk management, sustainability and responsible tourism at the forefront. ATOAI is the backbone as far this industry is concerned in India and our aim is to make India a global hub for adventure tourism. Internationally, the adventure sports industry is a $400 billion industry. According to industry estimates, the Indian inbound industry for adventure tourism in growing by 5-7 per cent annually and domestic tourism for this segment is on an upswing, growing by 20-25 per cent annually.” The expo will host many sessions addressing the various issues of the adventure sports industry with luminaries from across the globe. Commenting on the Expo, Rishi Narain, Founder and Managing Director, RN Sports Marketing, said, “India already has huge potential as an adventure sports destination with so much diversity from mountains to rivers and desserts. ASEA 2018 will market India as an iconic destination for adventure to the world with the support of ATOAI. The event will also recognise individuals/groups and companies in the field of adventure on the …

KJ Alphons, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism, launched the Incredible India digital calendar in Delhi and also released the Incredible India wall and desk calendars for the year. Alphons said, “We want to keep up with technology and thought to do something very innovative. The digital calendar will be a very dynamic one where you will get updated pictures everyday. Therefore, for the first time in the wall calendar, we are showing India at night. Each picture of the key tourist site, displayed in the calendar has been taken at night. Unique feature of the calendar is that when you hang it in your room, then the monument or the site glows. You get to get a feel of the monument under moonlight. The timing of the picture has also been given in the calendar. Photographs have been enhanced using radium ink. Also, most of the tourists see these destinations during the day, we wanted to showcase how they look at night.” Elaborating on the key features of the digital calendar, Rashmi Verma (IAS), Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, said, “It is for the first time we have a digital calendar, and it can be downloaded on your Android and Apple mobile phones. It can be used as a planner and everyday, as per the festival and the occasion the picture in the digital calendar will change. Sometimes, for one day you may get more than one picture, in case there are two three festivals in one day. The Incredible India digital calendar application enables users to know about the events and festivals happening in India on the go. The digital calendar can also be used …

The Ministry of Tourism, Oman has launched a new promotional website ‘www.experienceoman.om’ that will serve as a one-stop-shop for all Oman Tourism related information. The website was launched under the patronage of His Highness Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, Minister of Heritage and Culture during a gala dinner recently hosted in Muscat on the sidelines of the 2nd UNWTO/UNESCO World Conference on Tourism and Culture. Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative, Ministry of Tourism, Oman said, “The launch of the website comes as a part of the Ministry’s initiatives to support the development of the tourism sector in all areas, especially in the use of electronic platforms and digital marketing. Providing insights into suggested travel itineraries; list of tour operators, hotels, and services; MICE opportunities; the website also orients tourists with the latest events in Oman and can be viewed in six languages.” The Ministry aims to enhance the Sultanate’s presence in the digital world by shedding light on the most popular landmarks, creating a platform to interact with visitors and responding to their enquiries through the website. The ‘www.experienceoman.om’ will complement the existing Oman Tourism website to provide diverse information about the latter.

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) in association with the Ministry of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, is set to launch the first edition of the Mumbai Shopping Festival (MSF). India’s first-of-its-kind citywide three-week festival will be celebrated from January 12-31, 2018 across Mumbai. The festival will include immersive retail experiences clubbed with live performances across the city. In lieu of the recent notification by the Government of Maharashtra where shops and establishments can now stay open 24X7, the Ministry of Tourism and MTDC will set up Mumbai’s first-ever Night Bazaar Flea Market which will go on till 4 am on weekends only. To enhance visibility of the Mumbai Shopping Festival, MTDC has teamed up with various associations with various retail and commerce bodies. Shopping partners for the Mumbai Shopping Festival 2018 include major malls and retail chains in Mumbai. Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, said, “I am pleased to announce this festival as we launch Mumbai as a world-class shopping destination. We are delighted to see interest from our partners including retailers, brands, restaurants, who have given innumerable hours to making the Mumbai Shopping Festival a reality. We look forward to the participation of each and every Mumbaikar, and citizens of the country in joining us to celebrate this mega extravaganza.”

While the tourism sector in India has gained huge impetus in recent times, the lack of infrastructure to support the surge in tourism has now caught the eye of the sector. In a recent statement, Tourism Ministry officials have revealed that India has a shortage of nearly 2 lakh hotel rooms and is struggling to manage the acceleration in tourist arrivals. “We are plagued with a huge shortage of hotel rooms and instead of building new ones, we are trying to encourage homestays and exploring other alternatives like tying up with existing known brands with operational hotels and accrediting them,” said a senior official. The MOT is also working on creating five special tourism zones in the country so that these areas can be developed into tourist hotspots, officials said. According to a report of the working group on tourism for the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17), for a projected annual growth of 12 per cent in foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs), the projected requirement of additional hotel rooms in 2016 over 2010, was estimated to be 1,90,108.

The Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned an amount of Rs.95.67 crore for the Development of Coastal Circuit in Dakshin Kannada dist., Uttar Kannada dist. and Udupi dist. in Karnataka under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, as per information by K.J. Alphons, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism. MOT has launched the Swadesh Darshan Scheme for developing 15 identified theme based tourist circuits and the National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) Scheme for developing 25 identified pilgrimage destinations. The Ministry develops tourism related infrastructure and promotes India as a tourism destination to increase tourist arrivals which, in turn, creates job opportunities in the country.    

Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, will lead PATA India Chapter as its Chairperson for the term 2017-19. This was announced during the 47th Annual General Meeting of PATA India Chapter held at The Claridges, New Delhi on December 19. While SanJeet, Director, DDP Publications, was re-elected as the association’s Vice Chairman; J.S. Taneja, MD, Travel Spirit International, will continue to hold the post of Hon. Secretary, and the post of Hon. Treasurer has been re-assigned to Vikram Madhok, MD, Abercrombie & Kent. The association also elected its Executive Committee for the term 2017-19. Under the Active Government Category, Rashmi Verma and Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India will hold the post, while Ravneet Kaur, CMD, ITDC and Sanjiv Garg, Additional Member T&C, Ministry of Railways will be EC members under the Associate Government Category. Pankaj Srivastava, Director-Commercial, Air India, has been elected EC member under the International Carrier category. Under the Domestic Carrier category, Ragini Chopra, VP, Jet Airways and M.P. Mall, CMD, IRCTC have been elected. The four posts for Travel Agents/Tour Operators category have been given to Vikram Madhok, J.S. Taneja, Snirmol Ghosh, Director, Indo Asia Tours and Anoop Kanuga, Director, Bathija Travels. Under the Hotels/ Associate Hotels category, the three members are: Renu Basu, VP, Indian Hotels; Arjun Sharma, MD, Select Holiday Resorts; and Rohit Arora, GM, Apeejay Surendra Park Hotel. SanJeet will be an EC member under the Sustaining Member category.

Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) this November were 10.05 lakh as compared to FTAs of 8.78 lakh in November 2016 and 8.16 lakh in November 2015, according to the latest data released by the Ministry of Tourism. The growth rate in FTAs in November 2017 over November 2016 was 14.4 per cent as compared to 7.6 per cent in November 2016 over November 2015. FTAs during the period January- November 2017 were 90.1 lakh with a growth of 15.5 per cent over the same period of previous year, as compared to the FTAs of 77.83 lakh with a growth of 9.4 per cent in January-November, 2016 over January-November, 2015. The percentage share of FTAs in India during November 2017 among the top 15 source countries was highest from Bangladesh (16.77 per cent) followed by USA (14.77 per cent), UK (9.93 per cent), Russian Fed. (4.41 per cent), Canada (4.39 per cent), Australia (3.96 per cent), Malaysia (3.50 per cent), Germany (2.90 per cent), France (2.51 per cent), Sri Lanka (2.32 per cent), China (2.26 per cent), Singapore (2.04 per cent), Japan (2.03 per cent), Thailand (1.87 per cent), and Rep. of Korea (1.31 per cent).

Travelport and the Republic of Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism have announced a new global digital marketing campaign to increase tourism to the world’s largest archipelago. The campaign, which is part of the Ministry’s ‘Wonderful Indonesia’ international tourism marketing strategy, will deliver tailored online messaging to targeted travel agents in 15 countries around the world using Travelport’s advanced Destination Marketing technology. “Indonesia is one of the world’s most beautiful countries, full of fascinating sights and tastes that we want to share with the world.” said I Gde Pitana, Deputy Minister for International Marketing and Communication, for the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism. The Ministry of Tourism believes the campaign will help increase tourism from the record setting 15-plus million tourists expected in 2017 by driving incremental tourist arrivals into Indonesia. Niklas Andreen, Vice President and Managing Director, Global Hospitality and Digital, Travelport, added, “It is a great honour to work with the Ministry of Tourism on this campaign to increase tourism to the country. With access to more than 68,000 Travelport travel agents around the world, our destination marketing solution continues to deliver exceptional value to customers.”