Tag Archives: MoT

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has formed a task force with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to address and simplify regional connectivity scheme. Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, MOT, Government of India, said, “By working together, we aim to make travelling for tourists much simpler especially for those who opt for the different theme based circuits.” A meeting was held last week between the two ministries to discuss the particulars and address complications that may arise. This would also simplify travel for the transnational Buddhist Circuit which is in the pipeline and has recently been approved.

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has advised State Government/Union Territory Administrations to set up Hospitality Development Boards if the same do not exist in their respective States/Union Territories. The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has so far sanctioned 12 Institutes of Hospitality Management in the northeastern states. Out of these Central Institute of Hotel Management, Guwahati, Central Institute of Hotel Management, Shillong, State Institute of Hotel Management, Gangtok and Food Craft Institute, Nawgaon are operational. This information was given by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Culture and Tourism in a written reply in Lok Sabha. The State Government of Maharashtra has reportedly setup Hospitality Development and Promotion Board. List of Institutes in North Eastern States for which Central Financial Assistance has been granted by MOT. 1.    Central Institute of Hotel Management, Guwahati , Assam 2.    State Institute of Hotel Management, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh 3.    State Institute of Hotel Management, Imphal, Manipur 4.    Central Institute of Hotel Management, Shillong, Meghlaya 5.    State Institute of Hotel Management, Aizawl, Mizoram 6.    State Institute of Hotel Management, Dimapur, Nagaland 7.    State Institute of Hotel Management, Gangtok, Sikkim 8.    State Institute of Hotel Management, Agartala, Tripura 9.    State Institute of Hotel Management, Jorhat, Assam 10.  Food Craft Institute, Nawgaon, Assam 11.  Food Craft Institute, Tura, Meghlaya 12.  Food Craft Institute, Namchi, Sikkim

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) is all set to hold Bharat Parva from Aug 12-18 in line with the Independence Day celebrations. Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, Tourism, Government of India, revealed, “We are hosting a Bharat Parva at the India Gate Rajpath Lawns and it is part of the India Independence Day Celebration from August 12-18.  The Tourism Ministry will organise the same and we are going to bring in lots of attractions for the people. The idea is to create a festive and patriotic mood and involve people. We will have state pavilions and they are very excited about the same. The festival will have cuisines, food court, handicrafts and cultural programmes from all states on all the days. We’ve also involved local, state and regional associations based in Delhi for the festival as well.”

Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has approved projects worth Rs. 275 crore for the development of Krishna and Heritage circuit in Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme. The Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) for the Swadesh Darshan Scheme met under the chairmanship of Vinod Zutshi, Secretary – Tourism where senior officers of MOT and State Governments of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana participated in the meeting. Under Krishna Circuit in State of Rajasthan, the sites of Shrinath Ji (Nathdwara), Govind Devji (Jaipur), Kanak Vrindavan (Jaipur), Charan Mandir (Jaipur), Galtaji Temple Complex (Jaipur), and Khatu Shyam (Sikar) are covered with total project cost of approximately Rs. 98.00 Crore. Sites located in and around Kurukshetra (Haryana) have been included in Krishna Circuit for State of Haryana. Major thrust areas of development for sites of Jyotisar, Brahma Sarovar, Sannhit Sarovar, Narkatari: Baan Ganga, Amin: Abhimanyu Ka Tila are bathing ghat facilities (lockers, changing rooms, etc.), construction of Mahabharata Theme Park, multi-purpose tourist information centre, among many others. The total project cost for integrated development of Krishna Circuit in Haryana is estimated at Rs. 96.00 Crore. The Heritage circuit of Gujarat focuses on Gandhi theme, covering sites of Ahmedabad (Kochrab Ashram,Sabarmati Ashram,Dandi bridge, ) Rajkot (Alfred High School, Kaba Gandhi no Delo, Rashtriya Shala ), Porbandar (Kirti Mandir), Bardoli (Sardar Patel Museum) and Dandi (Gandhi Smriti railway station,Karadi village,Dandi Memorial). The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs. 80.00 crore.

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) is celebrating the 2nd International Day of Yoga on June 21, 2016, by hosting a FAM tour for a group of 50 foreign delegates consisting of Tour Operators/Travel Agents/Media Persons/Opinion Makers/Scholars from 20 countries which are source markets and the markets that matter for promotion of Yoga and Wellness. This group of 50 delegates will split into two group, which will participate in Delhi and Chandigarh on 21st June, 2016, separately. Both the groups will then follow a tour program including visit to the wellness & spiritual centres in Haridwar, Rishikesh, Trivandrum, Cochin, Neyyar (Kerala), Pondicherry & Chennai.

As part of the action plan, the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) will launch an aggressive marketing strategy to enlist more bed and breakfast establishments to the Incredible India Bed & Breakfast /Home Stay Scheme and involve online travel agents in its promotion. Rationalisation of taxes and simplification of procedures will be addressed to move towards ease of doing business while groups were constituted to study various aspects of this scheme and submit recommendations in a time bound manner. Through this action plan, MOT aims to fill the desired additional hotel capacity and give impetus to establishments run by the central and state government as well as those run by OTAs since construction of hotels has a long gestation period. This was imparted by Vinod Zutshi, Secretary – Tourism, at MOT’s workshop  on Incredible India Bed & Breakfast /Home Stay Scheme held on 30th May 2016. The workshop was attended by officials from MOT and various State Governments, representatives from the hospitality and the travel trade industry and CEOs of OTAs.

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) will be organsising a convention for BRIC nations in Khajuraho from August 31-September 1.  The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) will be hosting Fam tours for the delegates participating in the convention, revealed Rajiv Mehra, Vice President, IATO, during the IATO Interactive Luncheon Meeting on June 1 at Pride Plaza Hotel, New Delhi. The ministry will be inviting at least 25 foreign operators from these countries. However, a final confirmation from the Ministry of External Affairs is awaited. The meeting was held to discuss the New Exim policy introduced by the Govt. last year, under which tour operators earning foreign exchange are entitled to get SEIS scrip @5 per cent. Sanjeev Gupta, an expert on Exim Policy, made a presentation on SEIS Scheme as to how the scheme would benefit members.

PATA India and the Ministry of Tourism’s (MOT) first leg of its five-city US roadshow begins today at San Francisco and will cover the West Coast. Imparting more details on the roadshow, Vikram Madhok, Hony. Treasurer, PATA India, said, “One of our mandates for PATA membership is to add value so we embark on roadshows across the world, primarily in the main feeder markets. Now, we are going back to the US and have more than 20 people from every segment participating. It’s going to begin from May 24 in San Francisco, May 25 in Los Angeles (Orange County), May 26 in Los Angeles (Beverly Hills), May 31 in Vancouver ending on June 1 in Seattle. Another roadshow in Europe is currently in the pipeline.”

Around 32 Foreign Tour Operators from 12 countries, and 10 corporates attended the first edition of Global MICE Travel Mart (GMTM). In all, 42 buyers and 27 sellers were in attendance. The next edition of GMTM will be held in July 2017, announced Dr. Jyotsna Suri, Immediate Past President, FICCI, and Chairperson, FICCI Tourism Committee at the inauguration of the 1st edition of Global MICE Travel Mart. Organised by FICCI in association with the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) and India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB), the mart is being held from May 19-21 2016 at The Lalit, New Delhi. Dr Suri said that the conference is a step towards promoting India as a MICE destination and will be held annually here onwards. The FICCI-MRSS report on ‘India Inbound MICE Tourism – Trends and Opportunities’ was released during inaugural session where Dr A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI, Chander Mansharami, Vice Chairman – ICPB, Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, MOT and Rahul Chakravarty, Director & Head – Tourism, FICCI, spoke about MICE tourism in India. A panel discussion on ‘Furthering MICE Tourism into India – Rejuvenating the Roadmap’ with several well-known industry professionals followed after.

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has decided that the increase in ASI monument fees will only be 50 per cent of the proposed hike of 300 per cent. This means that for Category B monuments, there will be an increase from Rs. 100 to Rs. 200 only instead of Rs. 300. However, a premium ticket will be introduced of Rs. 300/- with some value additions. Similarly for Category A monuments, there will be an increase from Rs. 250 to Rs. 500 only instead of Rs. 750. Premium ticket will cost Rs. 750 with similar value additions. The above new rates will be effective from April 1, 2016. The decision was taken in a meeting with the Executive Committee (EC) members of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) and officials from Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI). While the official notification from ASI is awaited, IATO has revealed that after constant deliberations with the MOT, finally the decision was taken in a meeting with Minister of State for Tourism and Culture (IC) Dr. Mahesh Sharma, in his office where Vinod Zutshi, Secretary (Tourism), Narendra Kumar Sinha, Secretary (Culture), Rakesh Tewari, DG (ASI), Navneet Soni, OSD to Minister of Culture, B. Purushottam, PS to Hon’ble Minister for Tourism & Culture, Suman Billa, Joint Secretary (Tourism) and many other senior officials were present. Also, the IATO EC was assured by Sharma that by April 15, 2016, there will be a separate counter and queue to enter at all the ASI monuments for those having ticket in category A of Rs. 500 and above and in Category B of Rs. 200 and above. Some other facilities include clean toilets and some fast food outlets …