Tag Archives: Nitin Gadkari

G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism, along with Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Sarbanand Sonwal met Yogi Adityanath, CM, Uttar Pradesh to deliberate on how respective ministries can synergise on development of roads, railways, tourism, culture and shipping.

Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways (RT&H) and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), has said that the cabinet is working on introducing ropeway, cable car and funicular railway at many areas in place of roads to lead way for hotels and restaurants. “In our country service sector includes hotels/restaurants which has a very big role and contribution in it. We are opening around 2000 roadside amenities, and restaurants have great potential for growth in these upcoming green highway projects. Along with this, wherever we are developing tourism, we would be needing more hotels, restaurants, taxis and entertainment. As the highway projects are going in full swing, people will be travelling in large amount by road as they now have appropriate conveyance so they will be looking forward to resorts and restaurants which are hygienic and safe, which will give boost to the industry. It will also uplift the regional food and culture of the area which will be served to them by the respective hotels and restaurants,” he was speaking at a FHRAI webinar.

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation inaugurated the Mormugao Port Trust and Drishti Marine’s inland ferry services in the port city of Vasco in Goa. The inaugural plaque was unveiled at the newly constructed Airport Ferry Terminal (AFT) at Baina beach. The ferry service is aimed at offering transport to tourists and locals from and to the airport to different parts of Goa. Drishti Marine operates passenger ferry operations on behalf of the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT). It undertook this project and constructed the fully dismantleable and environmental-friendly floating jetty and terminal at Baina Beach. At the inaugural ceremony, Gadkari said, “Our country has a 7,500 km long coastline, which can help the development of our country. The biggest advantage of tourism is that 49 per cent of the capital investment is utilised for job creation. If one wants to travel by road, the cost is Rs. 1.5 (per km), by railways the cost is Re. 1 (per km) and by water the cost is 20 paise (per km). The first phase will see the opening of routes between Vasco and Panaji and will eventually extend to other areas. Phase Two will start from the Airport Ferry Terminal to Baga, Siquerim, as well as Chapora Fort.

A top-level delegation led by Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Govt of India, gathered inside Mumbai Port to lay the foundation stone for the new international cruise terminal. Mumbai Port Trust (MPT) proposes to handle 80 per cent of the cruise passengers that will arrive at the port once the terminal is complete. Sanjay Bhatia, Chairman, MPT, said, “As per our consultant’s report, we have the potential to bring in 30 lakh passengers. Based on that projection, we have prepared a second SOP on a national level. We have also recently exempted cruise passengers from e-visa and this is in line with our efforts to make immigration process for international tourists easier and faster. With the new terminal, the area of cruise terminal will be 4.15 lakh sq feet, almost 10 times bigger than what we have today.” Bhatia added that the new terminal will have all the facilities of the domestic airport. Also present at the ceremony were Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister, Maharashtra and Jaykumar Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of India.

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in collaboration with other central ministries, state governments and stakeholders has organised a nationwide celebration of tourism from October 5-25, 2017, called ‘Paryatan Parv’. As a grand finale to the 21-day celebration, a three-day event is being organised at the Rajpath Lawns, New Delhi (between Rafi Marg and Janpath) from the 23rd to 25th October 2017. The event will be open to the public from 12 noon to 10 pm on all three days and will include cultural performances, a crafts bazaar, multi-cuisine food court and other interactive activities to keep visitors engaged at the event venue. The food court will have 50 stalls set up by the states/UTs, each showcasing their distinctive cuisine, the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) with street food from different regions as well as by the Institutes of Hotel Management and ITDC. The crafts mela with 50 stalls will showcase the diverse handicrafts and handlooms of the country, arranged by the state governments and Ministry of Textiles through the Office of the Development Commissioners of Handicrafts and handlooms. There will be 15 Theme State Pavilions where each state will showcase their tourism products and destinations. Cultural performances by troupes from the different states/UTs of the country will be staged from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm on all three days. In addition to the cultural performances by the states/UTs, special cultural events will be staged from 6:00 pm onwards on all three days. These will include ‘Purani Dilli Ki Dastan’ presented by Begum Zakia Zaheer, Syeda Hameed and Rene Singh on 23rd October 2017, “Dhrupad Vocal” by Prashant & Nishant Mallick (Mallick Brothers) on 24th October 2017, …

Mumbai witnessed the gathering of a high-level delegation from different ministries and government authorities who announced their collective plan and focus to develop cruise tourism. Sharing their perspectives were: Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Shipping, Government of India; JaykumarRawal, Minister of Tourism Government of Maharashtra; Sanjay Bhatia, Chairman, Mumbai Port Trust; Vijay Waghmare, MD, MTDC; and David Dingle, Chairman, Carnival UK. Titled ‘Dawn of Cruise in India’ the seminar was aimed at encouraging cruise tourism in India, more specifically Mumbai, by improving infrastructure, facilitating quick and easy movement of cruise passengers, and easing taxation for cruise companies. Gadkari identified the reasons why cruise tourism had not taken off in India. As one of the initial steps, all relevant government agencies such as port authorities, security agencies, immigration authorities, customs, and port health authorities were identified and formed a task force to first assess the current condition and then look at the global best practices. Speaking at the conference, Rawal said, “Maharashtra is pleased to be the homeport of choice for cruises in India. The association with the shipping Ministry mutually assist to formulate policies to support Maharashtra’s position as a cruise hub. Therefore, there is huge potential for cruise tourism among domestic as well as international travelers. Cruise tourism will assist to earn huge foreign exchange and generate job opportunities.”

The Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with Ministry of Shipping will prepare an action plan for development of cruise tourism in India. MOT intends to promote cruise shipping and tourism in a big way and will be an important element of the Incredible India 2.0 campaign. The Netherlands-based consultant Bermello Ajmali has prepared a report on cruise tourism in India, which has a low penetration rate in the sector. During the National Workshop on Cruise Tourism conducted by MOT and Ministry of Shipping, Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Government of India, said, “The report prepared on cruise tourism by the foreign consultant will be discussed and the action plan will be ready in next 3-4 months. Next year is going to be very good for cruise tourism in India.” At present, India has a very small share in world cruise tourism market, as against 23 million passengers globally in 2016. Various stakeholders from the ministry of tourism, Shipping ministry, Bureau of Immigration, Central industrial Security Force (CISF), department of Revenue (Customs) and policy consultants etc. came together to discuss the nuances of the action plan to be put in place. Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister for Tourism, Government of India, said that cruise tourism will be a game changer for tourism sector as it helps in foreign exchange earnings as well as job creation. Rashmi Verma, Secretary-tourism, Government of India, informed that in 2013-14 only 103 cruise ships visited India which increased to 158 in 2016-17 and in 2013-14, 80,645 cruise passengers disembarked in India which grew to 191,725 passengers in 2016-17. She said, “This workshop is a landmark in promotion of cruise tourism in India and …

A new cruise tourism policy is underway to position India on the global map for cruising and efforts are on to identify such circuits, besides a slew of steps, to boost infrastructure, informed Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Government of India. “A high-level task force has been appointed and top global consultants are drawing up blueprint for it,” said Gadkari. Five circuits each are being identified for international and domestic cruise services and a report is likely by May this year. Steps to promote cruise tour include relaxation of policies and developing infrastructure. “The government is very keen to promote cruise tourism as India has vast opportunities,” added Gadkari. India saw 1.76 lakh cruise passengers in 2016-17, a merely 0.5 per cent of the global pie. Domestic cruise passengers are estimated to grow to 1.5 million by 2031-32. Of the 12 major ports, only five namely Mumbai, Goa, Cochin, New Mangalore and Chennai have facilities to berth international cruise ships. One of the circuits identified so far is coastal circuit for development of coastal tourism infrastructure. A decision has also been taken to have passenger terminals at all major ports to cater to cruise tourists. The government is developing a modern 2 lakh square feet terminal in Mumbai at an estimated cost of Rs 225 crore to make it a landmark destination, which will have infrastructure to accommodate cruise ships with size for 4,000 passengers. The project includes hospitality, retail, shopping, restaurants and will allow general visitors during non-cruise seasons.   Source: The New Indian Express/ PTI