Travel
News, November, 2008
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Govt
reviews tourism potential at Economic Editors’ Conference
New Delhi: The following
backgrounder has been issued by the Union Ministry of
Tourism on the occasion of Economic Editors’ Conference
2008.
Statistics
of Growth “It ( Tourism) is the largest service industry
in the country. Its importance lies in being an instrument
for economic development and employment generation, particularly
in the remote and backward areas”- Eleventh Five Year
Plan (2007-08 to 2011-12) Tourism is a major engine of
growth for Indian economy. In the year 2007, it contributed
6.23% to the GDP, 8.78% of total employment in the Country
was in the Tourism sector, generating about 53 million
jobs, both direct and indirect. The growth of tourism
in India has been significant and consistent in the last
five years recording a double digit growth. During 2007,
5.08 million foreign tourists arrived in India marking
a growth of 14.2% over the year 2006. This growth rate
is more than the world growth figure of tourist arrivals
which stood at 6.6% and that of Asia Pacific Region which
was 10.4%. In terms of International tourism receipts
India has performed exceptionally well by recording an
earning of 10.73 billion US $ during 2007 thereby marking
a growth of 24.3% as compared to the year 2006. Here again
India exceeded the world growth rate which was 15.4% and
also that of Asia Pacific which was 8.78%. The rank of
India in international arrivals and tourism receipts rose
from 51st and 37th respectively in 2003 to 42nd and 20th
respectively in 2007. The period January to October of
the current year has recorded a total of 4.32 million
foreign tourist arrivals, an increase of 9.4% as compared
to the corresponding period last year, whereas foreign
exchange earning during the same period saw an increase
of 16.9%, touching the figure of 9.70 Billion US $. Domestic
tourism visits in India increased from 309 million in
2003 to 527 million in 2007.
Infrastructure Development The Ministry of Tourism has
sanctioned Rs. 610.51 crore for Infrastructure development
in the year 2007-08 and Rs.482.07 crore in the year 2008-09.(Upto
Oct.2008) The Ministry has launched a scheme for development
of nationally and internationally important destinations
and circuits through Mega Projects. To date 22 mega projects
have already been identified and of these 15 projects
have been sanctioned for an amount of Rs.320.15 Crore
. Of these, Amritsar, Agra, Varanasi, Gangtok, Bhubaneswar,
Aurangabad and Hyderabad are also being developed as mega
destinations through the joint plans of all the key Ministries
of Government of India, which includes connectivity through
road, rail and air and upgradation of civic infrastructure.
Sustainable
Tourism
The
true potential of tourism lies in responsible practices
on both the demand and supply sides of the tourism chain,
enabling an effective response to climate change. This
is closely interlinked with inclusive growth through sustainable
community participation. This ‘sustainable’ tourism route
has been adopted by the Ministry of Tourism in the innovative
Rural Tourism Project, by strengthening skilled rural
artisan communities in association with United Nations
Development Programme. This innovative Rural Tourism Project
positions India’s rural way of life as a unique visitor
experience in low-impact settings. In addition, Mega shopping
festivals are also being organized in different regions
of the country such as Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Aurangabad
and Noida where artisans and artists from rural tourism
sites would be given a platform for exhibition and sale
of their handicraft products and for cultural performances.
This kind of exposure to the domestic and international
tourists would have far reaching benefits for the socioeconomic
development of the rural artisans. 136 Rural Tourism sites
have been identified till date across the country . An
amount of Rs. 50 lakh is provided to these sites as Financial
Assistance for Infrastructure Development. Besides Ministry
of Tourism has also provided an additional amount of Rs.
20 Lakhs to 91 identified Rural Tourism sites for capacity
building of the Village community . Ministry of Tourism
has partnered with UNDP for projects in 36 sites where
UNDP has provided financial assistance for capacity building.
PATA
Travel Mart 2008
India
successfully hosted the PATA Travel Mart 2008 in Hyderabad
from September 16 to 19, 2008. Approximately 1,089 trade
delegates from 56 countries, comprising 374 global buyers
from 324 organisations and 715 Asia Pacific seller delegates
from 301 organisations participated in the Travel Mart.
Hotel
Infrastructure
Due
to the efforts of the Ministry of Tourism, the Finance
Ministry has announced a 5 year Tax Holiday under Section
80-ID to hotels of 2, 3 and 4 star category and Convention
Centres which will be coming up between 1.4.2007 to 31.3.2010
in the districts of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Gautam Budh Nagar
(NOIDA) and Ghaziabad. The Ministry of Tourism also successfully
persuaded the Finance Ministry to announce in the budget
of 2008-09, a five year holiday from income tax to two,
three or four star hotels established in specified districts
which have UNESCO-declared 'World Heritage Sites'. The
hotels should be constructed and start functioning during
the period April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2013.
Bed
and Breakfast Scheme
In
order to supplement the availability of accommodation
in the Metros and other tourist destinations, Ministry
of Tourism launched the ‘Incredible India Bed & Breakfast
Scheme’ which would provide clean and affordable accommodation
as well as give tourists the opportunity to stay with
Indian families and experience Indian customs, traditions
and authentic Indian cuisine.
Policy
on Camping Sites
The
growth of newer niche tourism products viz. rural tourism,
eco-tourism, adventure tourism and camp tourism etc. has
seen the emergence of a new segment of tented accommodation
which provides an altogether new experience. The Ministry
of Tourism, Government of India has introduced a voluntary
scheme for project approval and classification of operational
Tented Accommodation in the country.
Tourism
Manpower Development
During
the last four years, 12 Institutes of Hotel Management
(IHMs) were sanctioned, out of which 3 were sanctioned
in the North-East. Similarly, 6 Food Craft Institutes
(FCIs) have been sanctioned during this period including
1 in the North-East. Currently there are 28 IHMs & 6 FCIs
in the country. These efforts of the Ministry will further
boost tourism and hospitality education and will help
in augmenting the availability of trained manpower for
the hospitality industry. With an increase in international
and domestic tourism, there is a growing need for English
and foreign language speaking guides. To encourage and
promote this segment, a new Scheme for college students
under the nomenclature ‘Earn while you Learn’ has been
launched by the Ministry of Tourism. Under this Scheme,
college students are given 21 days training in history
& culture, to groom them as tourism volunteers. The basic
idea underlying the Programme is to sensitize youth to
the importance of tourism. It has been the endeavour of
the Ministry of Tourism to put in place a system of training
and professional education with necessary infrastructural
support, capable of generating manpower to meet the needs
of the tourism and hospitality industry, both quantitatively
and qualitatively. For the purpose, the Ministry has a
scheme that provides for the setting up and up-gradation
of the Institutes of Hotel Management and Food Craft Institutes
in the country. The Indian Institute of Tourism & Travel
Management (IITTM) and the National Council for Hotel
Management & Catering Technology are also eligible for
assistance under the Scheme. The Scheme's scope has been
recently enlarged, to also cover the funding of infrastructure-creation
in vocational schools, ITIs, government (including Kendriya
Vidyalayas / Central School) polytechnic, universities,
colleges owned by universities/governments, public sector
undertakings for starting hospitality courses. The Scheme's
sweep has been extended to meet, in greater measure than
hitherto, the Industry’s demand of trained manpower. Presently,
against the annual trained manpower demand of the industry
of 0.2 Million persons, the supply is only of 12000 persons
(after adjusting attrition).
INITIVATIVES: Cruise Tourism
Cruise
Tourism
is a relatively new but an emerging sector with a high
potential for growth. With the approval of the Cruise
Tourism Policy, the huge potential of this tourism product
has been opened up. Together with the Port Trust Authorities
and the State Governments, the Ministry is now focusing
on infrastructure development as well as motivating cruise
operators to make cruises operational.
Adventure
Tourism
Adventure
tourism has immense potential for growth. For experiencing
the different types of adventure tourism right from rock
climbing, river rafting, para gliding, mountaineering
and under water diving, the Ministry has sanctioned several
projects to different States during last four years. The
South Asian Winter Games being organized in Feb. 2009
in Uttarakhand marks the beginning of several such events
which will bring India to the International Adventure
Tourism platform.
Wellness
Tourism
India,
as the world knows, is a Wellness destination. The potential
of wellness systems, developed through centuries of wisdom
of this ancient civilization would be fully tapped. This
is being done by positioning India as a centre of Ayurveda,
Yoga, Siddha, Naturopathy, etc. together with the spiritual
philosophy that has been integral to the Indian way of
life. The Ministry of Tourism has highlighted wellness
in a big way through publicity and promotional activities.
The Ministry is developing Haridwar- Rishikesh as well
as Puducherry (formerly known as Pondicherry) as Wellness
centres, to give visitors a complete experience which
is physically healing, spiritually enriching and mentally
rejuvenating.
International
Cooperation
International
Cooperation through tourism has been a hall mark of the
Ministry’s efforts to reach out. At the ASEAN India Tourism
Minister’s Conference earlier this year, there was a very
positive response to India’s initiative for launching
the India ASEAN website, as also to the initiative in
organizing a Workshop for travel agents from ASEAN countries,
called ‘Beyond Boundaries’. To strengthen Cooperation
between India and China, Ministry of Tourism opened its
India Tourism Office in Beijing and is organizing several
promotional activities in this key market. Another international
forum in which there is progress is the IBSA dialogue
forum between India, Brazil and South Africa. An IBSA
Workshop was organized in Kochi on September 21, 2008,
which provided an opportunity for Tour Operators from
Brazil and South Africa to interact with their Indian
counterparts and deliberate on issues related to the promotion
of tourism between the three countries. A total of 26
Tour Operators from Brazil and South Africa participated
in this workshop. The IBSA Workshop was preceded by a
Joint Working Group Meeting on Tourism, in which members
agreed to finalization of the tripartite agreement for
cooperation in the tourism sector. This Agreement was
subsequently signed at the IBSA Summit held in New Delhi
on October 15, 2008. The Hon’ble Minister of Tourism and
Culture, chaired the 84th Session of the Executive Council
of United Nations World Tourism Organization held in Madrid,
Spain on 14-15 October 2008 in her capacity as the Chairperson
of the Executive Council. India’s stand on climate change
was reiterated in the Executive Council’s resolution which
emphasized that there should not be any discrimination
against developing countries and the meeting agreed to
take consensus based measures to implement the resolution
within the framework of United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change.
-Nov, 2008
