Tag Archives: Tourism & Culture

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State, Tourism & Culture, in his address at the launch of Bharat Parv, said that tourism was the most affected industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, but positive attitude and effective planning of the government is helping this industry to rebound in a magnificent way. “The diverse culture of India is our great strength and we can introduce it to the world through tourism,” he said.

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C), Tourism & Culture, will be having a virtual interaction with state/UT tourism ministers on October 15 and 16. The aim behind these meetings is to discuss post-COVID protocols and put plans in motion to ensure that the tourism sector opens up with safety measures in place. The Minister will be interacting with tourism ministers of the northern and western states and Union territories on October 15 and those of the southern, eastern and north-eastern states on October 16. These meetings will be in line with the meetings held with the tourism stakeholders in the last two months.

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C), Tourism & Culture, has said that 2021 should be the year of Dekho Apna Desh and the focus should be on domestic tourism. “The Prime Minister asked us to concentrate on ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ one year ago and that every citizen should visit 15 domestic destinations till 2022. However, now the time is such that in 2021 people will only travel within India, and this campaign would be really helpful for us. Year 2021 should be the year of Dekho Apna Desh and all of us should promote it with full force,” he said.

Hotel & Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO), has appealed Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C), Tourism & Culture, to think of a long-term benefit for the tourism industry of Odisha. In a letter addressed to the Minister, JK Mohanty, Chairman, HRAO & IATO Eastern Region, has written, “On behalf of HRAO, we regret to inform that hotel industry of Odisha has not yet received any relief either from the Centre or from the State Government in spite of our continuous appeals explaining the miserable situation faced by the tourism industry. The hotel industry is bleeding profusely and reasons are very well known to your honour through our various correspondences and memorandums presented through our national chapters of HAI, FAITH, FHRAI, FICCI, CII, ICC, ASSOCHAM, PHD Chamber of Commerce, etc. In view of this, we appeal before you to think of a long term benefit that the tourism industry can contribute to the country in terms of employment, both Indian and foreign exchange earnings, image building of the country, and providing service to guests both Indian and foreigners. The Hotel industry as per Swami Vivekananda’s wording ‘Provide Service to mankind is service to God’. Both Union Govt. and the State Govt. must realize the benefit which the Govt. get than the relief which the industry is seeking for its survival.”

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C), Tourism & Culture, has said that while domestic tourism will be a priority in the near future, inbound is also important. He claimed that by 2024, he will fulfil his promise to the Prime Minister, of doubling the number of international arrivals to India. Citing UNWTO Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index, he said that India jumped from 65th to 34th rank in 2019. “We wanted to travel to 1st position, but the COVID-19 crisis came in between. However, I can confidently say that in 2024, I will fulfil my promise to the PM to double the number of international arrivals in the country. In fact, I am sure that we will achieve that before time. We are capable of doing it and all the stakeholders are participants in that journey,” asserted Patel.

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C), Tourism & Culture, has said that the guidelines for travellers, monuments, guides, hotels & restaurants, tour operators and other stakeholders will be released in 2-3 days by Ministry of Health, and its expanded form will be released by MOT by 8th June, 2020. The Minister shared the information while addressing members of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).

Amaravati, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, is set to host the fifth round of F1H2O World Championship from November 16-18. Hosted by Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority, the event is believed to position Amaravati on the world map. Mukesh Kumar Meena, Secretary, Tourism & Culture, Government of Andhra Pradesh, along with Marco Pietrini, Director of Logistics, F1H2O and Sandeep Mandava, CEO, India Xtreme Adventure Activities, organised a press conference in New Delhi, to share updates about the event. Speaking at the conference, Meena revealed, “The F1H2O World Championship is going to be held in India for the second time after 14 years. With a global event like this, Amaravati will be recognised world over. In fact, there will also be a Team Amaravati with two key race drivers from Sweden—Jonas Anderson and Erk Edwin, who have been participating in all the legs of the race. In Amaravati, the race will be held in River Krishna and all the logistics and arrangements will be of international standards.”

The theme of Maharashtra Tourism’s stall at ITB Berlin this year was ‘Sustainable Tourism’ and ‘Tourism 360-degree’ to offer new avenues of tourism. The delegation was led by Vijay Gautam, IAS, Principal Secretary, Tourism & Culture and Aashutosh Rathod, Joint Managing Director, MTDC who presided over key B2B meetings and spoke about the prospects of ensuing collaborations with counterparts to attract tourists all across the globe. Maharashtra aims to provide a meaningful experience to travellers, creating awareness about sustainability matters and encouraging these practices among them. The response generated by travel and tour operators for MTDC’s initiative at ITB Berlin 2018 was promising.

Following Phase-II of its promotional campaign, Department of Tourism, Kerala has planned to target Europe with a budget of Rs 7.5 crore. Kerala Tourism has planned to showcase diversified products across the European terrain to entice travellers and has been promoting the state as a preferred tourist destination across the globe. Highlighting the significance of the campaign, Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Cooperation and Devaswoms, Government of Kerala said, “Considering Europe’s top position in the list of high-potential markets for overall tourism growth, Kerala Tourism has activated a rigorous promotional campaign involving diverse products that have the capability to attract travellers from the European countries to Kerala.” Highlighting the growth of state tourism, Rani George, IAS, Secretary, Tourism & Culture, Government of Kerala stated, “Through this promotional and marketing campaign, Kerala Tourism aims to double the foreign tourist arrivals and increase domestic tourist arrivals by 50 per cent, by 2021.” Under the promotional campaign in Europe 2017-18, Kerala Tourism has planned to utilise all forms of promotional tools under various categories, including television campaigns (Rs 3.5 crore), Out of Home (OOH) campaign (Rs 2.5 crore), Consumer Travel Mart (Rs 1 crore) and Kerala Blog Express (Rs 50 Lakhs).  

Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism & Culture will flag off the ‘Swachh Paryatan Run’ from Transport Bhawan to India Gate in New Delhi on the occasion of World Tourism Day on Sept 27. The Minister will also flag the ‘Special Sightseeing Tour of the Monuments and Museum in Delhi arranged for Divyang Children’ organised by India Tourism, New Delhi. Among the other activities organised by India Tourism, New Delhi, the Minister will award rewarding Ministry of Tourism offices, its organisations and also hold a painting competition.