Tag: India Tourism

As per the report published by Hotels.com in association with Ipsos, a global market research and a consulting firm; India ranks among the top ten popular destinations for Chinese tourists in Asia. The report says around 2 laksh Chinese tourists visited India during 2017. Mumbai and Delhi are the most favourite destinations for Chinese travellers with 69 and 51 per cent Chinese tourist footfalls respectively. The report was formulated during May 2018 by conducting interviews with 3,047 Chinese residents, within the age group of 18-58 years, who had travelled abroad in the past 12 months. The main sources of inspiration ... Read more

Foreign tourist arrivals (FTA) in India has seen a 14 per cent jump in 2017 as compared to 2016. The foreign exchange earnings (FEE) in the sector in 2017 was Rs 1,77,874 crore, said Union Tourism Minister K J Alphons. He said India ranks 26th in the world in arrival of global tourists and is one of the highest growing tourist economies in the world. The minister also said that there is a shortage of two lakh rooms in the tourism sector, mostly in the mid-segment. The minister said there has been a 28.8 per cent increase in domestic tourist ... Read more

“The Walled City of Jaipur, Rajasthan, India” is the next proposed site for UNESCO World Heritage recognition, informed Dr Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (independent charge) for Culture and Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate change . The site namely “The Walled City of Jaipur, Rajasthan, India” has been proposed for World Heritage. As per Operation Guidelines 2017, only one site can be nominated by the state party each year. The recognition of World Heritage is a matter of great pride. It impacts the local economy by giving a boost to domestic and international tourism leading to increased employment ... Read more

About Rs 12.68 crore was allocated for conservation, preservation and environmental development works at the Taj Mahal in the last three years, said Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma at the Rajya Sabha. “The essential conservation, preservation and environmental development work at Taj Mahal is attended regularly to keep the monument in good condition,” the minister said. The expenditure incurred by the government on the monument’s conservation, preservation and environmental development was around Rs 4.12 crore during 2017-18. In the previous two years, close to Rs 3.6 crore (2015-16) and Rs 4.6 crore (2016-17) have been spent by the government, Sharma said. ... Read more

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha have deployed tourist police. “Fourteen states have deployed tourist police in one form or the other,” informed Union Tourism Minister KJ Alphons. Listing out the measures taken by his ministry to ensure the safety of tourists, Alphons said it had launched a 24×7 Multi-Lingual Tourist Info-Helpline (toll-free number 1800111363, short code 1363) in 12 languages (Hindi, English and 10 international languages) in February, 2016. The helpline was launched to provide support to the tourists in terms of information relating ... Read more

Music pillars of Hampi, Karnataka Ministry of Tourism has identified 17 sites in 12 clusters in the country for development under Iconic Tourist Sites Development Project, pursuant to Budget Announcements of 2018-19. The seventeen sites are: Uttar Pradesh- TajMahal & Fatehpur Sikri; Maharashtra- Ajanta & Ellora; Delhi- Humayun’s Tomb, Red Fort & Qutub Minar; Goa- Colva beach; Rajasthan- Amer Fort; Gujarat- Somnath & Dholavira; Madhya Pradesh- Khajuraho; Karnataka- Hampi; Tamil Nadu- Mahabalipuram; Assam- Kaziranga; Kerala- Kumarakom; Bihar- Mahabodhi. “The Ministry shall be developing the above sites in a holistic manner with focus on issues concerning connectivity to the destination, better ... Read more

Nithin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport, Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, said  that discussion are on with Singapore to develop cruise tourism at various locations in India. “We are keen on promoting cruise tourism on a mega-scale in the country. Mumbai alone is expected to have 950 cruise vessels in the coming five years,” added the minister who was addressing the delegation from ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) in Delhi on 18th July 2018. “Around one lakh Indians visit Singapore every year for cruise tourism. We have large scope for developing cruise tourism in India, with our 7,500 kilometers ... Read more

The Tourism Ministry in partnership with the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) and with the support of State /UT Governments will organize the ‘first ever’ India Tourism Mart (ITM) from 16th to 18th September, 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The objective of the event is to create an annual Global Tourism Mart for India in line with major international travel marts being held in countries across the world. Announcing the event, the Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism, KJ Alphons, said that the Mart will provide a platform for all stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality ... Read more

India plans to have road shows to emphasis alternate therapies like Yoga and Ayurveda to attract more tourists form the US. The tourists from US have been one of the largest contributors of income in the tourism industry, UK being the second foreign contributor.  Recently, in the leadership of the tourism minister Alphons Kannanthanam, a road show under the theme ‘Incredible India’ has conducted in New York and Chicago. In 2017 India has received 1.4 million US tourists, which was 6 per cent more than that of a year ago and around 25 per cent more from 2014. Meanwhile, UK ... Read more

In a first, the government has come out with refined safety and quality guidelines for ‘adventure tourism’ on India. The guidelines set in discussion with the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) covers 15 land-based, 7 air-based and 7 water-based activities. The guidelines consists of minimum standards required for activities like mountaineering, trekking, bungee jumping, paragliding, kayaking, scuba diving, snorkeling, river rafting etc. The guidelines also instruct that all tour operators must be recognised by local or state authorities, have a registered office, responsible to nature, employ trained and skilled professionals. It includes subjects like the role of a ... Read more

The Government of India is planning to reshape its foreign tourism offices into eight regional hubs for greater efficiency. Union Tourism Minister K J Alphons said the ministry is likely to shut seven of its 14 overseas tourist offices, including the ones in Paris, Amsterdam, Toronto and London. The offices in Milan (Italy), Sydney (Australia) and Johannesburg (South Africa) are also likely to shut shop. “In today’s digital world, having these many overseas offices are not required. The plan is to reshape these 14 offices into eight regional hubs for greater efficiency,” said the minister to IE. The offices in Toronto and Los Angeles are the ... Read more

Till now tourists need to apply for travel documents such as the protected area permit (PAP) and the restricted area permit (RAP) before visiting Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Sikkim. And, now, as part of its plans to attract more tourists, the government is proposing to remove restrictions for foreigners who want to travel to these destinations. The restrictions can be removed only if the home ministry and the defence ministries approve the proposal since some areas in the north-east are considered sensitive due to a long history of insurgency in the region. “The ministry has proposed opening up the north-east for tourists. In ... Read more

The government already had plans to have seven main Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Now the government plans to expand the ‘Buddhist Circuit’ to other 21 states. The states included in the plan are Kerala, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal. The Ministry of Tourism has already identified stupas and viharas in these states and small intrastate Buddhist zones will be made around these. The Buddhist circuit is considered as India’s first trans-national tourist circuit. The plan is to promote tourism starting from Lumbini in Nepal, where Buddha was born, to the ... Read more

The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) has asked the Finance Ministry to allot funds and special packages for the development of tourism in North Eastern states. The proposal for funds and package was confirmed by Department of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER)  Minister Jitendra Singh on Friday after a meeting with Union Tourism Minister Alphons Kannamthanam. As per reports, the ministers discussed about recognizing new projects stressing the development of tourism in Northeastern states. The meetings are part of the regular Inter-Ministerial discussions regarding the development of the region. Minister Jitendra Singh said that the DoNER ... Read more

A new weekly train no 22895/22896 Durg-Ferozpur-Durg Antyodaya Express was inaugurated by Rajen Gohain, Minister of State for Railways & Dr. Raman Singh, Chief Minister, Chattisgarh. Speaking on the occasion, Rajen Gohain said that the Antyodaya Express has been launched to ensure a facilities equipped journey to all the sections of the society as envisioned by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. This train and all other Antyodaya Express trains running from different parts of the country have multiple facilities at affordable rates. He also expressed satisfaction that the Indian Railways has been working on several projects that will take care ... Read more