Tag Archives: tourism

G Kamala Vardhan Rao, DG, Tourism, has said that every state is competing when it comes to tourism. “Every state has a different budget allocation in a big way. Hence when state governments worlk alongside central government, it’s a fine way of synergy and a way forward by developing products. Once product is developed, we are now seeing some green shoots after the pandemic,” he said.

Speaking at the Conference of Tourism & Culture Ministers of Southern Region in Bengaluru, Ajay Bhatt, MoS, Tourism, has said that under the Swadesh Darshan scheme, MOT has sanctioned 15 projects, which include projects in Andhra Pradesh worth ₹141 crore; 5 projects in Kerala worth ₹413 crore; three projects in Telangana worth ₹266 crore; projects worth ₹73 crore in Tamil Nadu and in Puducherry projects were ₹148 crore.

As the news of international borders and reinstating of e-visa has been announced, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has appointed tourism officers in 20 Indian missions abroad in a bid to boost overseas marketing and promotions. These officers were already posted in embassies in the countries where promotions will take place, revealed Rupinder Brar, ADG, Tourism.

G Kishan Reddy, Cabinet Minister, Tourism, Culture & DoNER addressed the mega-tourism event ‘Ladakh: New Start, New Goals’ virtually, where ‘A Tourism Vision for Ladakh’ document was unveiled which focuses on overall development of the Ladakh Region. “The Central government has also contributed Rs.23.21 Crore for Tourist Water Screen Projection Multimedia show and other tourist attractions and also developing Chaukihang Vihara Project under the PRASHAD scheme,” announced Reddy.

Valsa Nair, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Excise & Civil Aviation Govt Of Maharashtra, said, “The policy that has really led the tourism revival in Maharashtra is the vacation rental policy, which was a new discovery in the COVID times. A lot of independent houses and farmhouses in the state have now been thrown open to tourists. While many are ordinary ones, some are exclusive and owned by HNIs. There are many categories and the prices have skyrocketed. There are also operators who are now running such homes. As government, we are in the final stages to make it easier for the tourists to book into these vacation homes and make it easier for the owners to ensure that the right tourists come. We are also building in the food and civil supplies department. We are also bringing in the police to ensure that these are exactly used for the right purposes. The vacation rental I think is going to be the backbone of tourism revival in Maharashtra.”

In a re-shuffle of the state cabinet, the Odisha government has posted Surendra Kumar, who was the Principal Secretary – Steel and Mines, in the General Administration department with the additional charge of the Tourism department as its Principal Secretary. Vishal Dev, who was the Principal Secretary of Tourism, Sports and Youth Affairs in the Odisha government, has been appointed as the new Principal Secretary of the Finance department.

Ajay Bhatt, Minister of State, Tourism, has said in a tweet that work on weather road to connect Char Dham is going on along with Rishikesh- Karnaprayag rail line. Apart from that, in Uttarakhand, renovation work of Kedarnath is also being carried out under the BJP Government in the state.

Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism, has said that while the strategy for international marketing in terms of incentives, promotions and media campaigns will be similar, but it will change from 15th August, when we enter 75th year of Independence. “We’ll merge that kind of messaging or campaigns, which will be aimed at celebrating 75th year of India’s independence, with existing media strategies, as well as new schemes and programmes,” he said.

Ajay Bhatt, the newly appointed Minister of State, Tourism, took charge and shared that the priorities for him in the new role is to take the country forward and tourism sector at the top position. “We will take briefing and will come to know things clearly. Then, we would know what can be done about the issues and problems. The hotel industry is completely closed and small shops around tourist sites have been out of jobs, this include locals, rickshaws, taxis, guides, daily wagers, etc. All of them have faced problems. For them, the Government has created many schemes. Now that the situation is improving day by day, we hope to soon come back to the old level of tourism in India,” he said.

Thanking the Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Tourism Minister for announcement of relief measures for the tourism sector and taking up issues concerning the industry, Rupinder Brar, ADG, Tourism, said, “We welcome the financial help for tourist guides and tour operators. It is also good that the recognised entities are being supported. The support that has come in terms of visa being announced free for the first 500,000 e-Tourist visas that will be applied for, will be a gamechanger. It sends a positive signal to the whole word that India is getting ready to open, the vaccination drive has picked up, number of cases are going down. Through this, we also want to send a message to the industry that please get recognised, so that you can be benefitted by any of the schemes of the government.”