Tag Archives: Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma

Ministry of tourism is set to organise its Global Travel Mart from September 18-20, 2018 in association with Federation of Associations of Indian Travel and Hospitality (FAITH). Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, said, “We are taking a number of new initiatives. For a long time, it was the demand of the industry that we should also have a Global Travel Mart in our country on the lines of WTM and ITB, and this year we have finalised the mart in partnership with the industry. MOT will be organising this Global Travel Mart from September 18-20 in Delhi and we will be getting participants from all over the world and about 200-250 foreign delegates and media will be participating in it. The entire travel trade industry will be partners in this and their apex organisation FAITH will be doing it with us in partnership. This new initiative would give opportunity to the entire travel trade and will give a lot of fillip to the tourist traffic to India.

India and Cambodia has agreed to  strengthen tourism cooperation, particularly with regards to start a direct air link between Phnom Penh and New Delhi. This decison was taken after a joint committee meeting between officials from Cambodia and India in Siem Reap, to discuss cooperation in the tourism industry as part of a high-level dialogue mechanism. Earlier this week, Phnom Penh hosted the ‘Incredible India Road Show’, which aimed to promote India as a destination for Cambodian tourists, as well as to create new partnerships between Indian and local companies in the tourism industry. Rashmi Verma, Secretary-Tourism, Government of India, said the committee is now working on a strategy to further collaboration between the countries in tourism. “Stronger cooperation in tourism will be beneficial for both countries in terms of economic growth and job creation,” she said. The flow of tourists between Cambodian and India has increased remarkably in the last few years, said Thong Khon,  Cambodian Minister of Tourism. He said many Cambodians travel to India to visit religious landmarks, while Indians like to visit the Kingdom to experience local weddings or as part of pilgrimages. “In many ways, both countries have a similar appeal for tourists, and both have huge potential for tourism. This is why we need to boost cooperation with India in the sector,” Khon said. Khon and Ms Tashmi said they are now conducting talks with civil aviation bodies to expedite the creation of a direct air link.

PATA India will be conducting its 6th Update & Outlook Meeting on November 15, 2017 at The Claridges, New Delhi. Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma will preside over the meeting. G. K. Chaukiyal, Executive Director, Airport Authority of India, will also give an overview of Regional Connectivity Scheme, near and medium term connectivity plan and how it will support tourism. One of the objectives of this initiative is to take aviation to the hinterland and to the doorstep of the common man. This will contribute towards developing tourism infrastructure and open new vistas for tourism as well.

Andhra Pradesh was declared the best state for comprehensive development of tourism at National Tourism Awards 2015-2016. Rajasthan emerged as second best while the third prize was shared between Kerala and Goa. Commemorating World Tourism Day, the Ministry of Tourism organised the awards at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, on September 27, 2017. President of India Ram Nath Kovind graced the occasion as Chief Guest and gave away awards in various categories. K.J. Alphons, Minister of State (IC) for Tourism, Government of India, presided over the function. Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma welcomed the dignitaries and guests including Tourism Ministers of States and State Government Officials, members from the travel and hospitality sector, leading hoteliers, travel agents and tour operators. The President launched the ‘Incredible India 2.0 Campaign’; ‘Adopt A Heritage’ Project and new Incredible India Website on the occasion. ‘Incredible India 2.0 Campaign’ marks a shift from the present generic promotions being undertaken across the world, to market specific promotional plans and product specific creatives, with greater focus on digital presence and social media. ‘Adopt A Heritage’ Project plans to entrust heritage sites to the public sector and private sector companies and individuals for the development of tourist amenities. They will become ‘Monument Mitras’ and adopt bthe sites. The ‘Incredible India Website’ is an advanced version of the website with more useful features.

A high-level government delegation inaugurated the 33rd IATO Annual Convention in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, at Mayfair Convention Centre. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik along with Union Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism, Alphons Kannanthanam, Odisha’s Minister of Tourism and Culture Ashok Chandra Panda and Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma were present during the inauguration. They announced that the 34th IATO convention will be held in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The Tourism Secretary spoke about the new campaign that the Government of India will announce soon. Called ‘Adopt a Heritage’ the campaign is aimed at the corporate and private sector to adopt a heritage monument in association with ASI.

Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma reportedly said that the Ministry of Tourism is considering setting up government-run offices in key markets such as the US, the UK and Russia to attract more visitors to India. It will also set up facilitation centres to address queries of tourists at airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru. With Incredible India 2.0 campaign expected to be launched in September, Verma reportedly said the ministry will run market-specific campaigns on it in different countries through local and electronic channels as well as digital media. “A synergy between Incredible India campaign and overseas markets will get us better results. Our offices in different countries would work on a hub and spoke model which will be in sync with our PR agency. This time the states are also complementing our plans and the industry can plan campaigns around it. Our spends are higher than last year,” said Verma. Source: Economic Times

Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma announced that in May the ministry witnessed a 19 per cent increase in inbound tourist numbers despite it being peak summer. She informed that MOT has created a GST cell two days ago to address the industry issues. “We want to handhold the industry through the transition from current tax regime to the new GST regime and solve any hurdles through this,” she said. The much-awaited National Tourism policy would most probably be released before World Tourism Day commemorated on September 27, she added. Verma said that the Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet had suggested some changes in the draft policy which have been incorporated and will releasing it soon. This was revealed during a special session on GST organised by the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) for its members, which was attended by members from Central Board of Excise & Customs, Govt. of India. The government officials addressed the issues related to tour operators and explained to them the intricacies of the GST regime and how would it affect them. The event was also a farewell from IATO to former secretary tourism Vinod Zutshi, where they also welcomed the new secretary Rashmi Verma.