Tag Archives: Vasundhara Raje

The 10th edition of Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB) opened with 280 foreign buyers from 55 countries and 270 exhibitors at The Lalit Jaipur on April 22. Committed to boost tourism in India, the inbound show was inaugurated by Vasundhara Raje, Chief Minister, Rajasthan; Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism; Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson, FICCI Tourism Committee; Dipak Deva, Co-Chairman, FICCI Tourism Committee; Nihal Chand Goel, Additional Chief Secretary (Tourism, Art & Culture), among other officials from the Government of Rajasthan. The show, celebrating a decade of successfully promoting inbound tourism in Rajasthan, hopes to cross the 11,000 mark in terms of pre-scheduled B2B meetings between the exhibitors and buyers. Raje said, “It is heartening to see such an enthusiastic participation at GITB. The tourism sector has seen a new vigour and dynamism after the launch of the campaign ‘Jane Kya dikh Jaye’. Our vision was to get 50 million tourists in Rajasthan by 2020 but by the end of 2017 itself, the state received 47.5 million tourists and we would compete our target by the end of 2018.” Raje also thanked the central government for the financial support provided for the state’s various tourism projects. An MoU was also singed on behalf of the Government of Rajasthan and FICCI under which the GITB will continue to be hosted till 2024. The dates for the next edition of the show in Jaipur are April 28-30, 2019.  

In order to boost tourism facilities in Rajasthan, the Government of Rajasthan has signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with Singapore. “Singapore has been a close friend and partner of Rajasthan in infrastructure and tourism development. With these MoUs, we aim to deepen this association and develop the state as a world-class, global tourist destination with advanced urban infrastructure,” said Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. The MoU seeks to aggregate Singapore’s expertise through tripartite collaboration between the government, tourism institutions and industry partners to strengthen Rajasthan’s ‘knowledge capabilities.’ Rajasthan is also seeking to utilise Singapore’s public and private sector proficiency in the development of tourism. The otheragreement focuses on enhancing Rajasthan’s international appeal and connectivity, facilitation of private sector participation in a bid to rejuvenate the state’s heritage areas and critical urban and smart solutions. The MoU will also train 100 Rajasthan tourism officials. The 36-month programme is supported by the Temasek Foundation International with a $484,000 grant, and co-funded by the Rajasthan tourism department. Singapore will also share expertise in areas like inter-modal transport integration, waste management solutions and affordable wireless connection.

The Centre of Excellence for Tourism Training (CETT) in Udaipur is scheduled to begin operations later this year and will have an annual intake of 480 students. The centre has been established by Rajasthan’s Department of Skills, Employment and Entrepreneurship in collaboration with the Institute of Technical Education, Singapore and will provide skill and vocational training in services related to travel and tourism. The institute inaugurated by Vasundhara Raje, Chief Minister, Government of Rajasthan and Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister, Government of Singapore, will offer up to six courses including retail services, hospitality operations and culinary arts. Rajat Kumar Mishra, Principal Secretary, Department of Skill, Employment and Entrepreneurship, Government of Rajasthan said, “Tourism is one of the most important sectors in Rajasthan. We want to capture the entire tourism market throughout India and also abroad. The centre’s training could also help Rajasthan workers get jobs in cruise liners and airlines.” Skills development is a key area of cooperation between Singapore and India and the Udaipur centre is one of three institutes that Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education (ITE) is helping to start in India. The first, the World Class Skill Centre in New Delhi, is running, and another is being planned in the state of Assam in the North East.