Tag: K J Alphons

The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism, K J Alphons met with the Secretary-General of UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili and discussed on developing a Joint Action Plan focused on Tourism Innovation and Digital Transformation including the positioning of India on this Action Plan of UNWTO. The discussions also included involving UNWTO in developing tourism as a strong agent for the better future of the world and establishing Global Public Private Partnerships. The duo also discussed regarding strengthening the relationship between India and UNWTO. The minister, along with a delegation of senior officials, attended the 108th session of UNWTO Executive Council from ... 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

രാജ്യത്തേക്കുള്ള വിദേശ വിനോദ സഞ്ചാരികളുടെ വരവ് വര്‍ധിപ്പിക്കാന്‍ ദീര്‍ഘകാല വിസകളടക്കമുള്ള നിര്‍ദേശങ്ങള്‍ മുന്നോട്ടുവെച്ച് കേന്ദ്ര ടൂറിസം മന്ത്രാലയം. മൂന്നു വര്‍ഷത്തിനുള്ളില്‍ വിദേശ ടൂറിസ്റ്റുകളുടെ വരവ് ഇരട്ടിപ്പിക്കാന്‍ ദീര്‍ഘകാല വിസകള്‍ അവതരിപ്പിക്കല്‍, ചില മേഖലകളിലേക്കുള്ള യാത്രാ നിയന്ത്രണങ്ങളിലുള്ള ഇളവുകള്‍, പ്രമുഖ വിനോദ സഞ്ചാര മേഖലകളിലേയ്ക്ക് കൂടുതല്‍ വിമാന സര്‍വീസുകള്‍ തുടങ്ങിയ നടപടികളാണ് ശുപാര്‍ശ ചെയ്യുന്നതെന്ന് കേന്ദ്ര ടൂറിസം മന്ത്രി അല്‍ഫോന്‍സ്‌ കണ്ണന്താനം പറഞ്ഞു. നിലവില്‍ രാജ്യം മള്‍ട്ടിപ്പിള്‍ എന്‍ട്രി വിസകള്‍ നല്‍കുന്നുണ്ട്. യുഎസിലും മറ്റു രാജ്യങ്ങളിലും ഉള്ളപോലെ അഞ്ച്, പത്ത് വര്‍ഷത്തേക്കുള്ള വിസയാണ് ഇവിടെ ആവശ്യം. ഈ ആവശ്യമുന്നയിച്ച് വിവിധ മന്ത്രാലയങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് കത്തെഴുതുമെന്ന് മന്ത്രി വ്യക്തമാക്കി. നിലവില്‍ 60 ദിവസമാണ് ഇന്ത്യയിലെ വിസ കാലാവധി. 2017ല്‍ രാജ്യത്തേക്കുള്ള വിദേശ വിനോദ സഞ്ചാരികളുടെ വരവ് 15.7 ശതമാനം വര്‍ധിച്ച് 10 ദശലക്ഷത്തില്‍ എത്തിയിരുന്നു. ടൂറിസ്റ്റുകളുടെ എണ്ണത്തിലുള്ള വളര്‍ച്ചയുടെ ആഗോള ശരാശരി അഞ്ച് ശതമാനമായിരിക്കെയാണ് ഇന്ത്യയുടെ മികച്ച പ്രകടനം. അടുത്ത 10 വര്‍ഷത്തിനുള്ളില്‍ 10 ദശലക്ഷം ... 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 Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, has announced that the monthly Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) through tourism in India during the month of March 2018 were Rs.17, 294 crore as compared to Rs. 14, 667 crore in March 2017. The FEEs was Rs 12, 985 crore in March 2016. The growth rate in FEEs in rupee terms in March 2018 over March 2017 was 17.9 per cent, compared to the growth of 13.0 per cent in March 2017 over March 2016. FEEs during the period January- March 2018 were Rs 52, 916 crore with a growth of 15.5 per cent, as compared ... Read more

It was just days back that one of the major cement companies in India, Dalmia Cements, adopting the Red Fort under the Adopt a Heritage project. Though it has created some sparks across the country, the ministry is going ahead with its plans to continue the project to the selected 95 heritage site. Minister for Tourism K J Alphons said the centre has plans to add more sites under the project. However, the minister ensured that it will be done only in consultation with the  public. Sites like beaches and parks beyond the 95 envisaged by the ministry will find ... Read more

Google Arts and Culture have partnered with the Ministry of Tourism to unveil a 360-degree virtual reality video for the global “Incredible India” tourism campaign. As part of the partnership, Google Arts and Culture will provide users with an immersive 360-degree view of India’s heritage, festivity, spirituality and adventure. The video will showcase users a 360-degree view of some of the most iconic destinations in India including Qutub Minar, Amritsar’s Golden Temple, Vitthala Temples at Hampi and Goa’s easygoing vibe. “India is an iconic destination that offers unique experiences of climate, geography, culture, art, literature and food. We want to ... Read more

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of Kerala, will launch its prestigious Indian Culinary Institute today. The culinary institute aimed at promoting Indian cuisine as a niche tourism product, with its campuses in Noida and Tirupati, will offer diplomas as well as under graduate and post graduate degrees to research in culinary arts. The ICI campus in Noida will be formally launched by Minister of State for Tourism K J Alphons and Minister of State for Culture Mahesh Sharma. “The main objective of setting up of the ICI was to institutionalize a mechanism to support efforts intended to preserve, document, promote ... Read more

The 33rd IATO convention held in Odisha The four-day 34th annual convention of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) will be held at Hotel Novotel in Visakhapatnam from September 6 to 9. Tourism Minister KJ Alphons would inaugurate the convention on September 6.  The association will also organize  ‘IATO Run for Responsible Tourism’ on September 7 at 6 AM, starting from Beach Road, followed by panel discussions regarding tourism promotion in the State and domestic markets. “IATO meet was being organised for the first time in the State. About 1,100 tour operators would take part in the convention wherein latest developments ... Read more

With an aim to attract more tourists from Buddhist countries like that of Japan, the Indian Tourism Ministry is planning to promote Buddhist tourism. The country is organizing international Buddhist conclave every other year and is also aggressively developing Buddhist Circuit, which connects key places associated with the religion’s heritage.   “We are receiving a minuscule number of Buddhist tourists – just 0.005 per cent of the total Buddhist population in the world despite being a key pilgrimage destination for millions of practicing Buddhists around the world,” said Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism. “The idea is, even if we are ... Read more

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma sought the intervention of Union Tourism Minister K J Alphons to initiate “destination tourism” projects in the state. “We have to build tourism around the USPs of the region and the focus of the government will be to bring the tourism potential of the state in sync with creating avenues for the farming community as well as the youth to take entrepreneurial activities,” Sangma said. During the meeting, the Chief Minister also discussed development of tourism infrastructure and amenities at different tourist locations, especially that of Sohra, Umiam and eco-tourism destinations of Nokrek and Balpakram. ... Read more

International travel advisories against India are “hugely biased” and “uncalled for” because crime and violent incidents in the country are only “few and far between”, said Union Tourism Minister K J Alphons. He also asserted that India was a “perfectly safe” tourist destination for foreigners and the government was making efforts to get negative advisories against the country removed. The minister said this in an interview with IANS. “Most of these advisories are hugely biased. Why is the advisory for Assam is still on Level 2? Such advisories are completely uncalled for,” the minister added. The External Affairs Ministry has been ... Read more

Ministry of Tourism said it has sanctioned four projects under the Tribal Circuit theme, one of the fifteen thematic circuits identified for development under Swadesh Darshan Scheme. Under the scheme, government has sanctioned the amount for two circuits being developed in Nagaland, one in Chhattisgarh and fourth one in Telangana. Rs 97.36 crore and Rs 99.67 crore have been sanctioned for the development of Peren- Kohima- Wokha and Mokokchung-Tuensang-Mon Tribal Circuits in Nagaland respectively. For the development of Jashpur-Kunkuri-Mainpat- Ambikapur-Maheshpur-Ratanpur-Kurdar-SarodadadarGangrel- Kondagaon-Nathyanawagaon-Jagdalpur- Chitrakoot-Tirthgarh circuit in Chhattisgarh, the government has sanctioned Rs 99.94 crore. Telangana’s integrated development of Tribal Circuit – Mulugu-Laknavaram-Medavaram-Tadvai- Damaravi- Mallur-Bogatha Waterfalls received ... Read more

The Centre has decided to develop three railway stations in Kerala as world-class railway stations, informed Union Minister of State for Tourism and Information Technology, Alphons KJ has said. The minister has announced the decision through his Facebook page today. Kottayam, Palakkad and Kozhikode railway stations will be raised to world-class standard, said the minister. The government has allocated Rs 20 crore  for this purpose. The decision was taken following the discussions held with Union Minister for Railways, Piyush Goyal.  

Tourism Minister K J Alphons has said that the Ministry of Tourism proposes to keep open the restaurants and night markets to promote tourism in India. “There is a need to have activities in all tourist spots and monuments all over the country after sunset too,” said the minister in a statement. The ministry has taken an initiative to illuminate monuments after dusk so as to engage more activities near the monuments after sunset. “This will promote a wholesome entertainment, employment and revenue generation for the tourism sector 24×7,” explained the minister. The ministry is also in talks with the Archaeological ... Read more