Tag Archives: MoT

The Ministry of Tourism has clarified that the Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India from the USA during 2017 have registered a positive growth of 6.17 per cent over 2016. Since 2010, the number of FTAs from the USA in India has never declined. However, it is observed from the report of National Travel & Tourism Office (NTTO), USA, that the outbound tourists from the USA to India have declined by 7 per cent in 2017, as compared to 2016. The figures of outbound travellers in the report are 1,195,000 and 1,111,000 for the years 2016 and 2017, respectively. In the said report released by NTTO, it is also mentioned that traveller volume is based on the US Department of Homeland Security Advanced Passenger Information System wherein all airlines are required to electronically submit passenger data on flights arriving into and departing from the United States. Thus, it is obvious that the source of data for the report is only airlines reporting. In the cases where direct flight between the USA and India is not operating, it is not known whether the final destination is reported as India by the passengers. Moreover, departures at international check posts other than airports are not captured in the report.

The proportion of FTAs in India has not changed much in the last few years. In 2016, the highest numbers of FTAs in India were from 35-44 years age group (21.1 per cent) followed by the age groups of 45-54 years, according to a report by Ministry of Tourism. The proportion of FTAs for the age group of 25-34 years has been the highest from East Asia, West Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Central and South America in 2016,  according to a report by Minsitry of Tourism. The report also says that for Australasia, South Asia and South East Asia was the age group of 35-44 years. The percentage share of the age-group of 45-54 has been the highest for North America and Western Europe.

FTA’s in India from different regions of the world has been increasing from all areas. The growth was maximum from Eastern Europe (22.64 per cent) followed by South Asia (12.76 per cent) , Australasia(11.79 per cent), Central and South America (11.25 per cent), East Asia (11.12 per cent), West Asia (8.20 per cent), North America &7.98 per cent), Western Europe (7.94 per cent), South East Asia (6.54 per cent) and Africa (2.9 per cent), according to a report by Minsitry of Tourism. The percentage share in FTAs in India during 2016 was the highest for South Asia (24.93 per cent) followed by Western Europe (23.05 per cent), North America (18.33 per cent), South East Asia (8.74 per cent), East Asia (7.01 per cent), West Asia (5.13 per cent), Eastern Europe (4.61 per cent), Australasia (3.96 per cent, Africa (3.42 per cent) and Central and South America (0.89 per cent).

In a bid to increase the number of tourist arrivals to India, K J Alphons, Minister of State ( IC) for Tourism, met ambassadors from 20 countries to further promote India. The minister met with ambassadors & diplomatic representatives of various embassies including Austria, Argentina, Bhutan, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Philippines, Brazil, Malaysia, Germany, Indonesia, Finland, Russia, New Zealand, Oman.  He personally made a presentation and showed promotional films further to attract more foreign arrivals to the country. He also highlighted the transformational experience, a visit to India provides. The minister will continue to meet more ambassadors. The newly launched video “Yogi of the Racetrack” has already got 25 million views. Global promotions will continue with films in 9 foreign languages.

The foreign tourist visit to all States and UTs has been increasing over the years and in the year 2016,the visits by foreign tourists registered a growth of 5.92 per cent over 2015, according to a statistics report by Ministry of Tourism. The report says that number of foreign tourist visits to States/Uts during last 13 years has been registering an increasing trend overall, except for marginal decline in foreign visits in the years 2009 and 2012. The top five states in foreign tourist visits in 2016 were Tamil Nadu (4.72 million), Maharashtra(4.67million), Uttar Pradesh (31.53 million). Meanwhile, the report says that, there has been continuous increase in domestic tourist visits to States/ UTs with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.03 per cent from 1991 to 2016. The top five states in domestic tourist visits in 2016 were Tamil Nadu (343.8 million), Uttar Pradesh (211.7 million), Andhra Pradesh (153.2 million, Madhya Pradesh (150.5 million) and Karnataka (129.8 million).

The Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with Google India has launched a 360° Virtual Reality (VR) experience video for the global “Incredible India” tourism campaign. Incredible India in 360 degrees takes through a journey across Hampi, Goa, Delhi and Amritsar, and will explore the places and people that make each of these iconic Indian sites incredible. Describing India as a destination of diverse experiences, KJ Alphons, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism said, “India is an iconic destination that offers unique experiences of climate, geography, culture, art, literature, and food”. The minister also said that government wants to give people in India and across the world an opportunity to immerse in our country’s rich heritage. And, through the partnership with Google, it wants to engage new and global audiences and offer them immersive content in a never-before-seen manner. The minister added that taking virtual reality to the common man at a low-free cost will further enable an increase in the tourist footfall in Iconic monuments and other tourist destinations with a focus on Museums.

An amount of Rs 5638.87 crore has been sanctioned with release of Rs 2148.17 crore since 2014-15 till date under the Swadesh Darshan scheme of Ministry of Tourism. Under the scheme, 13 thematic circuits have been identified for development namely, North-East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit and Heritage Circuit. Meanwhile, under the PRASHAD scheme, 23 projects have been sanctioned to 15 states for a total amount of Rs 687.92 crore with release of Rs 241.28 crore since 2015-16 till date. The objective of the ‘National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive’ (PRASHAD) is of holistic development of identified pilgrimage and heritage destination.

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 much awaited all-new Incredible India website, which was set to go live from December 25, 2017, will now be launched in the end of January 2018. This was informed by Rashmi Verma, Secretary-Tourism, Government of India. “We could have launched the website as planned because in terms of technology, the website is ready. However, we are currently sourcing more content and images to make the website a complete solution and thus, by the third week of January, we should be ready to launch it, she said. Verma underscored various initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism (MOT). MOT is shortlisting some iconic tourist sites to develop into world-class sites in collaboration with various other ministries like Transport, Environment, Culture and Aviation. Five destinations under the Buddhist circuit are being developed with basic amenities and connectivity in collaboration with Ministry of Transport. She further added that MOT has planned to develop Special Tourism Zone and a proposal has been extended to all the states.

All travel trade agencies recognised or approved by the Ministry of Tourism are required to submit their data on digital transactions on a monthly basis, positively by the 20th of every month starting August 1, 2017 to the Ministry. The Ministry of Tourism had assigned travel trade associations including IATO, TAAI, ITTA, ADTOI and ATOAI the responsibility to promote digital transactions in the tourism sector. MOT had mailed the associations on Sept 22, 2017, regarding furnishing and submission of the same to the Ministry. The MOT will consolidate the data on digital transactions in the organised sectors for review by the PMO through the Ministry of Electronics and Information & Technology.