Tourism Ministry

India received 6.19 million Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in 2022 as compared to 1.52 million during the same period in 2021, Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy said Thursday. There were 10.93 million Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during the pre-pandemic year of 2019, Reddy said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha. "Tourism Industry has shown good signs of revival after Covid-19 pandemic. According to the latest information received from the Bureau of Immigration, India received 6.19 million Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) during 2022 as compared to 1.52 million during the same period of 2021," he said. He said that the ministry under its schemes such as Swadesh Darshan and Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Augmentation Drive , or PRASAD, provides financial assistance to state governments and Union Territories for the development of tourism-related infrastructure to enrich tourism experience for the visitors. He said his ministry has set up a 24x7 multi-lingual tourist

Expressing regret over non implementation of 'SVAMITVA', Central government scheme in Telangana, though its pilot project has been successfully completed, Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy on Monday urged Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to take steps to implement it in the State. SVAMITVA scheme under the Ministry of Panchayati Raj was launched nationwide by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during National Panchayati Raj Day ( April 24, 2021) after successful completion of pilot phase of scheme (2020-2021) in nine States. The scheme is a reformative step towards establishment of clear ownership of property in rural inhabited (Abadi) areas, by mapping of land parcels using drone technology and providing Record of Rights' to village household owners with issuance of legal ownership cards (Property cards/Title deeds) to the property owners. The Telangana government entered into an agreement with the Centre on April 19, 2022 in regard to the Survey of Villages Abadi and Mapping with

The government has prepared an atlas of places where water, land and air based adventure tourism activities can be performed in the country, a senior official said on Sunday. The atlas of water-based adventure tourism activities has already been notified while preparations are in final stages for land and air based activities, the senior official of the tourism ministry said. "We have prepared and notified one atlas for 21 water-based activities.... For example, we have identified all the places where kayaking is being practised in 20 states and UTs. For each activity, we have a map. An atlas for water sport activities has been notified while those for air and land based adventure tourism are in the final stages of notification, he told PTI. He said the atlas in one glance will give whole information about water sports in an area. "Its uniqueness is if you open an atlas and look for river rafting, in one glance you can see in which part of the country it is being offered, he said.

The second G20 Tourism Working Group meeting is focused on projecting domestic tourism in mission mode and will help India maximise its potential in the sector, Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy said on Sunday. The meeting, being held in Darjeeling and Siliguri in West Bengal from April 1 to 3, is being attended by more than 130 participants, including delegates of G20 members, invitee countries and international organisations, industry partners, state tourism officials and local tour operators. Speaking on the second day of the meeting, Reddy said the vision of the conference is to project domestic tourism in mission mode. "It will also make India maximise its potential in the tourism sector," he said. "The Union Ministry of Tourism has also formulated a comprehensive tourism policy with holistic flavour for a sustainable and responsible growth of the tourism sector in the country," he stated. Welcoming the delegates to Siliguri, Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs John Ba

Water sport activities will not be privatised in Goa, state tourism minister Rohan Khaunte told the Assembly on Monday. Responding to a Zero Hour mention by Aam Aadmi Party MLA Venzy Veigas, he said some persons with vested interests were spreading rumours about such activities being privatised. Touts were cheating tourists by overcharging them for water sport activities and it was important to regulate the trade, he said. "Goa Electronics Limited (GEL) has been assigned the task to introduce online system in the trade. The water sports' rate will be decided by respective associations, while GEL will charge Rs 50 per customer. GEL will run the counters and will provide the necessary technical support," he told the House.

A sum of Rs 340.92 crore was spent on the conservation, preservation, and maintenance of centrally protected sites during 2022-23 till March 1, parliament was informed on Monday. Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy shared the data in a written response to a query in Lok Sabha. He was asked to share details of the centrally protected heritage sites, temples, and monuments in the country, including in Rajasthan, and measures taken to beautify, maintain and develop them. Reddy, in his response, shared details of the amount allotted and spent on the conservation, preservation and maintenance of 3,696 centrally protected monuments and sites during the last three years and the current year. According to the data shared, Rs 435.39 crore was spent in 2019-20, Rs 260.83 crore in 2020-21, Rs 269.57 crore in 2021-22, Rs 340.92 crore in 2022-23 till March 1, 2023, Reddy also shared data on the number of adult tourists who visited protected ticketed monuments and the revenue generated from t

Ministry of Tourism has formulated a national strategy and roadmap for medical and wellness tourism in order to boost medical tourism in the country, said Union Minister G Kishan Reddy in Lok Sabha

Claims committee's actions hurting small hotel owners; constant friction with organised players discouraging SMEs and entrepreneurs from moving ahead with the times and with technology

The Centre on Thursday launched a competition to select the best tourism village from across the country, and also a new website to promote rural tourism. The launch took place here in the presence of Union Culture and Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy and Minister of State for Culture and Defence Ajay Bhatt. The 'Best Tourism Village Competition' helmed by the tourism ministry will be held in three stages, and will seek entries at district level, state level and finally at the national level, officials said. The evaluation criteria have been aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), they said. On the occasion, a new web portal to promote rural tourism in India was also launched. Reddy also launched the website of the first Global Tourism Investors Summit which will take place at Pragati Maidan here later this year.

There is an urgent need to allocate a special budget for improving the existing tourist places in and around Shimla, the Tourism Industry Stakeholders Association (TISHA) said in a release here today."The stay of tourists in Shimla has decreased to one day. The decrease in stay of tourists and steep fall in inflow of the tourists in Shimla is a matter of great concern, " TISHA President Mohinder Seth said in a release."There is an urgent need to allocate a special budget for improving the existing tourist places in & around Shimla, to create wayside amenities on the highways and for publicity of tourist activities available in and around every tourist destination of Himachal," he said in the release.The existing places of tourist interest in Shimla are very old and require additional tourist attractions and activities to hold the tourist in Shimla for additional two to three days, the release said."Creation of parkings exclusively for tourists in every cluster of hotels. The ...

In a bid to promote homestays in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will be staying tonight in the house of locals at Rawat Village of Pauri Garhwal district

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have congratulated the Goa government on the renovation of the historic Shree Saptakoteshwar Temple and said it will deepen the youth's connect with spiritual traditions and boost tourism in the state. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday inaugurated the refurbished temple, which was constructed by warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj more than three centuries ago at Narve village in North Goa district, 35 km from capital Panaji. The Goa state Archives and Archaeology Department has refurbished the temple. Prime Minister Modi in a tweet on on Saturday said, The renovated Shree Saptakoteshwar Devasthan, Narve, Bicholim will deepen the connect of our youth with our spiritual traditions. It will also further boost tourism in Goa. Union minister Shah also congratulated the Goa government on the reopening of the historic temple after renovation. "After being attacked by multiple invaders, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

Union Minister for Culture and Tourism G Kishan Reddy on Tuesday said tourism can be a positive force for economic transformation, rural development and community wellbeing, and India plans to use the key segment to achieve sustainable development goals during its G20 Presidency. The minister was addressing a side event at the start of a three-day Tourism Working Group (TWG) meeting of G20 at the tent city of Dhordo in Gujarat's Kutch district. This is the first meeting of the working group. Speaking at a panel discussion on 'Rural Tourism for Community Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation', Reddy said, India is focused on using tourism as a vehicle for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) during its G20 Presidency." SDGs are a call for action by all countries to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. "The soul of India lives in its villages," the minister said quoting Mahatma Gandhi. The focus of rural tourism should be to showcase villages, the country's way o

Focus on infrastructure development, capacity creation and promotion: Tourism secretary

From showcasing Incredible India visiting delegates to positioning the country as a major travel destination during its year-long presidency, G20 will be the Union Tourism ministry's focus area in 2023. India assumed the presidency of the influential bloc on December 1, setting the tone for the ministry's calendar this year. More than 200 meetings will be held across 55 locations, culminating with the annual G20 summit on September 9-10. The Tourism ministry is geared up to put its best foot forward and showcase to the guests from different countries the cultural heritage and culinary delights of India. The first G20 meeting -- the Sherpa meet -- was held in the first week of December in Rajasthan's Udaipur. From artistic murals to decking up of heritage sites with lights, the old city played the perfect host as iconic buildings were chosen as venues, besides sightseeing to Kumbhalgarh Fort -- a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Preparations for the G20 meetings are underway and the fi

Stating that Goa faces challenges on tourism from Sindhudurg belt and from Karnataka border, Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte said that his department is promoting water sports

The Taj Mahal, a UNESCO world heritage site, was among the 10 most popular centrally-protected ticketed monuments for domestic visitors in 2021-22, according to a new report released by the Union Ministry of Tourism. While the Mughal-era mausoleum ranked first, the Red Fort and the Qutub Minar -- both UNESCO-recognised sites in Delhi -- were the second and third most visited sites, respectively, for the period. The over 280-page report titled 'India Tourism Statistics 2022' was released on Tuesday by Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on World Tourism Day at an event here. The report said due to restrictions related to COVID-19, "the number of foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India during 2021 decreased to 1.52 million as compared to 2.74 million in 2020, registering a negative growth of 44.5 per cent". Sharing data about the footfall at various sites under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the report said the Taj Mahal was the most popular centrally-protected ticketed monum

Hotel occupancy during first half of 2022 was 52.6 million nights, a 63.65% rise compared to 32.2 million nights in first half of 2021, said the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics

The Pusa institute can play a major role in nurturing younger generations with the right skills to face the challenges of the 21st century, Union Culture and Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy has said. He said this in his address at the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering and Nutrition (IHM), Pusa "Spoke and appreciated the role institute played during the pandemic in introducing technology to impart training and lessons to students," he said in a tweet on Wednesday. "Dwelt on how PUSA as an institute can play a major role in being the frontrunner in nurturing younger generations with necessary knowledge base & right skills to face 21st century challenges & how it will continue to play a crucial role in the future as India enters 'Amrit Kaal'," he wrote on the microblogging site. The Pusa campus houses several key academic and research institutes, largely the very old agricultural institute. IHM, Pusa is one of the premier hospitality ...

Development of tourism infrastructure and sustainable tourism will be the focus of a national conference of tourism ministers from various states and Union Territories that is set to open on Sunday in Himachal Pradesh's Dharamshala. Union Minister for Culture and Tourism G Kishan Reddy will chair the event which is slated to be inaugurated by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur. The conference is being organised by the Ministry of Tourism from September 18-20 to discuss issues related to development of tourism in the country, officials said. Tourism-related aspects of the G20 leaders' summit, that will be hosted by India next year, will also be discussed, they said. India is expected to host over 200 G20 meetings during its year-long Presidency of the influential group, which will culminate with an annual summit on September 9 and 10 next year. India will assume the Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2023. The conference in Dharam