Tag Archives: Secretary Tourism

Abhay Kumar Singh, Secretary Tourism, Government of Bihar, said, “We introduced the policy three to four months ago and have finalised the norms. For any investors, we offer a 25 to 30 per cent capital subsidy and GST reimbursement of up to 80 per cent. On a cost of ₹100, we are giving back ₹110. These are the incentives we are providing.”

V Vidyavathi, Secretary, Union Ministry of Tourism, during her brief address at the International Tourism Mart held in Shillong, pointed out, “Development of tourism in the northeast should take into the account the sensitive ecosystem of the region.”

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism and Culture, Government of India, recently chaired a review meeting on eSamikSha platform with Ministry of Tourism officials. Also present were Arvind Singh, Secretary – Tourism and Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General – Tourism. eSamikSha is a digital governance platform for easy, instant and secure exchange of information. The portal has a flexi dashboard which provides officials the facility of customisation based on priority or requirements. It has a single-window communication channel linked with three layered robust tracking through Dashboard, Notification, email/SMS alerts.

In his address on World Tourism Day, Yogendra Tripathi, Secretary – Tourism, said that this year’s global theme of rural tourism laid out by the UNWTO is in the right context and has come at the right time. “In a country as diverse as India where a significant number of people are deeply rooted to the villages, it is both an opportunity as well as a necessity that tourism develops itself and in turn develops rural communities. Rural tourism in India has significant potential, considering rich cultural and historical heritage, variety in ecology and terrains, as well as places of natural beauty spread across the country,” he said.

While the tourism industry was disappointed with the sector not being mentioned in the stimulus package announced by the finance minister, Yogendra Tripathi, Secretary – Tourism, Government of India, has said that the new definition of MSME, which has removed the differentiation between manufacturing and services sector MSMEs, shall benefit tourism as 70-80% of the sector falls under MSME. “Throughout my tenure, I have been hearing from the industry that 70-80 per cent of the stakeholders in tourism fall under the MSME category. The biggest announcement under Atmanirbhar Bharat programme was pertaining to the MSMEs. Hence, we have clarified to the industry that the biggest announcements are there for them as well. The fact that the differentiation of definition between the manufacturing and the services sector MSME, which has been removed and the caps which have been changed for the services sector MSMEs, like tourism sector MSMEs, shall bring benefits. It’s not just the benefits which have been given, but it also further expands the scope of the tourism industry, to be part of the MSME definition and to take the benefits, which are due under the MSME category of Atmanirbhar Bharat announcements. I believe that the industry has started understanding that because they are now bringing out 1-2 difficult areas wherein the tourism industry may not get the kind of benefits it has been expecting. We are bringing up those difficulties to the appropriate authorities to see if we can resolve them, so that more benefits reach out to the MSME tourism industry,” he said.

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) held a virtual conference with the tourism and hospitality sector associations of the industry recently, which was led by Yogendra Tripathi, Secretary Tourism, MOT, along with senior officials of the Ministry. The Associations represented through remote conferencing were FAITH, CII, FICCI, PHDCCI and IMAI. The industry put forth a number of ideas and suggestions for tiding over the crisis created by COVID-19 in the sector of tourism and hospitality. The Ministry on its part shared the concerns and assured the associations that the government is very much with them in this grim hour and that they would work towards the suggestions put forth. There would be a lot of thrust on promoting domestic tourism was a common takeaway. MOT is using its social handles to create awareness of the need to stay at home safe in the period of lockdown and prepare to travel once the world opens up. In the meantime, the course modules of the Institutes of Hotel Management are being held online and faculty and students are using technology to remain abreast with their course curriculum.

  Around 300 delegates from 28 countries attended PATA Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference and Mart 2019 (PATA ATRTCM) in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. The event, organised by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and hosted by Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, brought together international experts at the forefront of the adventure travel industry from both the private and public sectors to discuss issues and opportunities in travel and tourism. Delegates heard from a diverse line-up of speakers at the one-day conference on the theme ‘Rejuvenate Your Soul Through Travel’. The thought leaders, innovators and pioneers, who are shaping the emerging landscape of the adventure travel and responsible tourism industry, examined various conference topics that covered ‘Rejuvenating Your Soul Through Travel’, ‘Storytelling to Sell Travel on Instagram’, ‘Using Sustainability to Future-Proof Our Destination’, ‘Trends to India’, ‘Creating Experiences that are Regenerative’, ‘Marketing to the New Adventure Travellers’, ‘Tourism as a Tool for Rejuvenation’, ‘A Special Story of Indian Rejuvenation’ and ‘Sustaining our Souls: Vision-Driven Leadership in Adventure Tourism’. The conference was opened by Dilip Jawalkar, IAS, Secretary Tourism, Religious Affairs and Culture Department, Government of Uttarakhand; Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism; Yogendra Tripathi, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, and Satpal Maharaj, Minister of Tourism, Uttarakhand. Dr Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA noted, “The event aims to be a catalyst for generating new ideas and improving collaboration between public and private sector organisations. By bringing together such a dynamic and diverse group of speakers, we hoped to highlight the need to discuss, analyse and share various ideas with both the public and private sector in planning, building and promoting a responsible travel and tourism industry.” The B2B mart welcomed 47 seller organisations from 10 destinations and 44 buyer organisations …

In an aim to update its members about the 34th Annual Convention set to be held from September 6-9, 2018, IATO recently hosted a luncheon meet at Le Meridien, New Delhi. The association felicitated Mukesh Kumar Meena, Secretary Tourism, Andhra Pradesh and Himanshu Shukla, CEO, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority. Convention Chairman Rajeev Mehra said, “We are getting close to our desired goal in meeting the required number of professionals of the trade from various parts of the country to make our 34th Annual Convention successful.” With the utmost support of Andhra Pradesh Tourism, IATO is confident of its convention. Meena, while addressing the members, said, “We are excited to be the hosts for IATO convention as we’ve been looking forward to it since 2016. We will also be hosting post tours for the delegation of about 200 or more.”

Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) India Chapter’s first-ever TourismPowerHouse will be held on August 5 and 6, 2018 at The Park, New Delhi. The initiative is aimed at igniting the minds of the leadership of the tourism industry and fully tap the immense potential of India, in line with global best practices. It will also help meet and exceed expectations of international travellers. The meeting will be led by Rashmi Verma, Secretary Tourism, Government of India and Chairperson, PATA India Chapter, along with Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA. The keynote address on ‘Tourism Trends and Opportunities’ will be delivered by John Koldowski, an international tourism research expert. Participants will get the opportunity to network, learn, and interact with knowledge leaders and industry stalwarts and also participate in engaging discussions on digital marketing, tourism disrupters and enablers, luxury travel trends and more.

Kerala Tourism has showcased its array of new tourism offerings at a recent Partnership Meet held in in New Delhi. For art aficionados, the state endorses Fort Kochi and a pilgrimage to the Kochi Muziris Biennale. There is Muziris Heritage Project for history buffs looking to transport themselves to another era. Further, the Spice Route Project re-establishes Kerala’s maritime associations with the countries on Spice Route and revives their cultural, historical and archaeological exchanges between these countries. The state also exhibited its traditional dance forms and visual storytelling presentations. “Most foreign tourists flock to Kerala to experience its cultural heritage but what we are trying to showcase is the idea that our culture isn’t limited to performances on stage. It is ingrained in our way of life and the department is taking small but significant steps towards helping a traveller experience the richness of Kerala,” said Rani George, IAS, Secretary (Tourism), Govt of Kerala.