English AR 20-21 - Ministry of Tourism...the point of view of suitability for international tourists, Ministry of Tourism classifies hotels under the star rating system. Under this

Ministry of Tourism | 1

Annual ReportJanuary, 2020 - December, 2020

Ministry of TourismGovernment of India

2 | Annual Report 2020-21

Contents


Contents

Chapter No. Title Page No.

1 Tourism – An Overview 5

2 Ministry of Tourism and its Functions 13

3 Ministry of Tourism- Role, Synergy and Convergence 17

4 Tourism Infrastructure Development 21

5 New Tourism Products (Niche Tourism) 27

6 Hotels and Travel-Trade 37

7 Human Resource Development 49

8 Publicity and Marketing 57

9 International Cooperation 69

10 India Tourism Development Corporation Limited (ITDC) 75

11 Statistics, Surveys and Studies 89

12 North-Eastern Region and Jammu & Kashmir- Special Emphasis 95

13 Gender Equality 101

14 Welfare Measures 105

15 Vigilance 109

16 Court Cases 113

17 Departmental Accounting Organisation 119

18 Important Audit Observations 123

19 Implementation of Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 127

20 Progressive Use of Official Language Hindi 131

21 Swachh Bharat Mission 135

I India tourism Offices in India 140

II India tourism Offices Abroad 141

III Senior Officers of the Ministry 142

IV Details of Amount released under Swadesh Darshan, 143PRASHAD,Central Agencies and Fairs & Festivals

V Surveys and Studies 154



CHAPTER-1

Tourism - An Overview


CHAPTER

1Tourism - An Overview

1.1 The growing influence of the tourismsector as an economic powerhouse and itspotential as a tool for development areirrefutable. Not only does the tourism sectorspearhead growth, it also improves the qualityof people’s lives with its capacity to create largescale employment of diverse kind. It supportsenvironmental protection, champions diversecultural heritage and strengthens peace in theworld.

1.2 Facilitation as well as strengthening oftourism in India is the main objective ofMinistry of Tourism. Augmenting tourisminfrastructure, easing of visa regime, assuranceof quality standards in services of tourismservice providers, projection of the country asa 365 days’ tourist destination, promotion ofsustainable tourism etc. are some of the policyareas which need to be constantly workedupon to increase and facilitate tourism in India.

1.3 FTAs during 2020 were 24.62 million(Jan-Nov)(Provisional) with a growth of -74.6% over same period of the previous year.

1.4 FEEs during the period during Jan 2020– March 2020 were Rs.44,203 crores (Provisionalestimates) with a growth of -15.6% over sameperiod of previous year. FEEs during the periodduring Jan 2020 – March 2020 were US$ 6.159billion (Provisional estimates) with a growth of-17.1% over same period of previous year.

1.5 Facilitative visa regime is a prerequisite for increasing inbound tourism. TheMinistry of Tourism takes the initiative withMinistry of Home Affairs and Ministry ofExternal Affairs for achieving the same. As on

December, 2020, e-visa facility has beenextended to the nationals of 171 Countriesunder 5 sub-categories i.e ‘e-Tourist visa’, ’e-Business visa’, ‘e-medical visa’, ‘e-MedicalAttendant Visa’ and ‘e-Conference Visa’. Thelatest country added is Togo. The e-Visa is validfor entry through 28 designated Airports and5 designated seaports.

1.6 The visa fee has been rationalized andhas been fairly reduced wherein e-Tourists Visafee reduced to $80 for 5 years, $40 for 1 yearand one-month e-tourist Visa fee reduced to$10 for lean season and $25 for peak season.

1.7 During 2020, a total of 8.38 million (Jan-Nov) foreign tourists arrived on e-Tourist Visaregistering a growth of -67.2%.

1.8 For tourism infrastructure creation inthe country, Ministry of Tourism has two majorschemes, launched during 2014-15, viz.Swadesh Darshan - Integrated Developmentof Theme-Based Tourist Circuits andPRASHAD- Pilgrimage Rejuvenation andSpiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive fordevelopment of tourism infrastructure in thecountry including historical places andheritage cities.

1.9 Swadesh Darshan scheme has a visionto develop theme based tourist circuits on theprinciples of high tourist value, competitivenessand sustainability in an integrated manner bysynergizing efforts to focus on needs andconcerns of all stakeholders to enrich touristexperience and enhance employmentopportunities. Under the scheme, fifteenthematic circuits have been identified for



development, namely: North-East India Circuit,Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, CoastalCircuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, TribalCircuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, RuralCircuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit,Heritage Circuit, Tirthankar Circuit & SufiCircuit. Since the inception of the scheme, anamount of Rs. 5684.67 crore has been sanctionedfor 76 projects with a total release of Rs. 4278.88crore (till 31.12.2020) covering all thematiccircuits under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme.

1.10 Under PRASHAD scheme, 57 sites havebeen identified at present in 29 States/UTs fordevelopment. Since the inception of thescheme, an amount of Rs. 1160.55 crore hasbeen sanctioned for 36 projects in 24 Stateswith the cululative release of Rs. 622.08 croretill 12th Jan. 2021.

1.11 Ministry of Tourism extends itsfinancial support to Central Agencies likeArcheological Survey of India (ASI) , PortTrusts of India, India Tourism DevelopmentCorporation (ITDC) etc. to develop the potentialdestinations under their jurisdictions/control.A total of Rs.39.77 crore has been released in2020 to various Central Agencies for creationof tourism infrastructure related.

1.12 Ministry of Tourism has identified 19iconic sites in the country for developmentunder Iconic Tourist Sites Development Projectand proposes to carry out the development ofthese sites in collaboration with various CentralMinistries, State Governments, Urban LocalBodies, Local Community and Industryplayers/Private sector.

1.13 Ministry of Tourism has taken up theinitiative of identification, diversification,development and promotion of niche tourismproducts of the country like Cruise, Adventure,Medical, Wellness, Golf, Polo, MeetingsIncentives Conferences & Exhibitions (MICE),Eco-tourism, Film Tourism, SustainableTourism etc. to overcome ‘seasonality’challenge in tourism and to promote India asa 365 days destination.

1.14 In pursuance to the appeal made bythe Honourable Prime Minister duringIndependence day speech asking every citizento visit at least 15 destinations by the year 2022,to promote domestic tourism in India, theMinistry had launched the Dekho ApnaDesh initiative in January 2020. Dekho ApnaDesh is promoted extensively on social mediaaccounts and website of the Ministry and byDomestic India Tourism offices. Under thisinitiative Ministry has been organizingwebinars, quiz, pledge, discussions to keepconnected with the stake-holders and toencourage citizens to travel within the country.

1.15 The Ministry of Tourism has evolvedComprehensive Sustainable Tourism Criteria(STCI) for major segments of the tourismindustry, namely accommodation, touroperators, Beaches, Backwaters, Lakes andRiver sectors applicable for the entire country.The Criteria have been evolved afterconsultations with the various stakeholders.The Ministry is considering to renew aMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) withthe Responsible Tourism Society of India(RTSOI) earlier known as Eco Tourism Societyof India (ESOI) to inform and educate tourismstakeholders about the importance ofSustainable and Responsible Tourism practicesand ensuring and promoting Sustainable andResponsible practices in the tourism industry.The target group includes hoteliers, touroperators, individuals from transport industry,resort managers, tourist guides, communityrepresentatives and government departments(culture, forest, environment, ArchaeologicalSurvey of India (ASI), museums, districtofficials) etc. A total of 5 such Workshops atJaipur, Goa, Guwahati, Bhopal andAhmedabad have been held so far.

1.16 To conform to the expected standardsfor different classes of tourists, especially fromthe point of view of suitability for internationaltourists, Ministry of Tourism classifies hotelsunder the star rating system. Under this system,hotels are given a rating, from One Star to Three



Star, Four and Five Star with or without alcohol,Five Star Deluxe, Heritage (Basic), Heritage(Classic), Heritage (Grand), Legacy Vintage(Basic), Legacy Vintage (Classic) and LegacyVintage (Grand) and Apartment Hotels.Ministry has introduced online system ofreceiving, processing and conveying/ grantingapprovals for hotel project, Hotel classification/ re-classification status to functioning hotels andproject level approval for hotel underconstruction. This online process has also beenintegrated with payment gateway. The Ministryalso has voluntary schemes for approval ofaccommodation units such as TimeshareResorts, Operational Motels, Guest Houses, Bed& Breakfast / Homestay Establishments, TentedAccommodation, as well as Online TravelAggregators, Stand-alone Air Catering Units,Convention Centres, Standalone Restaurants.

1.17 The Ministry of Tourism has taken upthe GST taxation slabs with the Ministry ofFinance, Government of India, from time totime, as a result of which the following changeshave been effected in GST rate slabs withrespect to tourism products and services:

The GST rate on hotel rooms with tariffs of upto Rs 7,500 per night has been cut to 12% fromthe existing 18%. Similarly, the tax on roomtariff of above Rs 7,500 has been slashed to 18%from the existing 28%. There will be no GSTon room tariffs of below Rs 1,000 per night.

GST (Goods and Services Tax) Councilannounced a cut in the tax rate on hotel roomtariffs, a move aimed at giving a boost to thehospitality sector. The GST rate on hotel roomswith tariffs of up to Rs 7,500 per night has beencut to 12% from the existing 18%. Similarly,the tax on room tariff of above Rs 7,500 hasbeen slashed to 18% from the existing 28%.There will be no GST on room tariffs of belowRs 1,000 per night.

GST on restaurants eateries has been broughtdown to 5% irrespective of whether they areair-conditioned or not. If a restaurant is locatedwithin the premises of hotels, inns, guesthouses, club or any commercial place meant

for residential or lodging purposes with a dailytariff of Rs.7500 per day per unit or above, thetax will be 18%.

1.18 Government has now exempted thecruise tourists arriving with e-visa from therequirement of bio-metric enrolment. Theentry seaports for tourists availing e-visa areMumbai, Cochin, Mormugao, Chennai andNew Mangalore.

1.19 E-Conference Visa in line with e-conference Visa for Government/P.S.U.Conferences, would be granted for privateconferences organized by private persons/companies/organizations.

1.20 Triple entry is permitted for e-MedicalVisa and for e-Medical Attendant Visa andextension may be granted up to 6 months oncase to case basis on merits of each case by theForeigners Regional Registration Officer(FRRO)/ Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO)concerned. Medical Attendant Visa will be co-terminus with the validity of the principal e-visa holder.

1.21 The Ministry of Tourism has launchedthe 24x7 Toll Free Multi-Lingual Tourist Info-Helpline on the toll free number 1800111363/short code 1363 in 12 Languages includingHindi and English in February 2016, tofacilitate and assist domestic and foreigntourists in terms of information relating toTravel in India and to provide a sense of safetyand security. The languages handled by theTourist Helpline include ten Internationallanguages besides English and Hindi, namely,Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese,Korean, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian andSpanish.

1.22 Ministry of Tourism has introduced 24/7 Live Chat Service interface on the website ofthe Ministry (www.incredibleindia.org) toassist tourists with better planning and quickquery resolutions. The live chat service assistboth international and domestic tourists withtheir queries and itinerary planning.

1.23 Sensitization workshops are being



conducted on promotion of Home stays/Incredible India Bed & BreakfastEstablishments in all States through itsdomestic offices. Incredible India B&BEstablishments approved by the Ministryautomatically get recognised by these StateGovernments.

1.24 It has been the endeavour of theMinistry of Tourism to put in place a systemof training and professional education, withnecessary infrastructure support, capable ofgenerating manpower sufficient to meet theneeds of the tourism and hospitality industry,both quantitatively and qualitatively. As ofnow, there are 47 Institutes of HotelManagement (IHMs), (comprising 21 CentralIHMs and 26 State IHMs) and 14 Food CraftInstitutes (FCIs), which have come up with thesupport of the Ministry. One (1) Central IHMat Jadgishpur, Uttar Pradesh is underconstruction.

1.25 Ministry of Tourism has launched theIncredible India Tourist Facilitator (IITF)Certification Programme, with the objective ofproviding online training and accreditation ofTourist Facilitators through a centralized PANIndia e-learning module. This will benefit the

Indian economy in general and Indian tourismin specific by enabling creation of a pool ofwell trained and professional TouristFacilitators and also creation of additionalemployment opportunities even in remoteareas.

1.26 RCS- UDAN has been introducedwith the main objective of facilitating /stimulating regional air connectivity bymaking it affordable. This is done throughconcessions by Central Government, StateGovernments and airport operators to reducethe cost of airline operations and financialsupport to meet the gap, if any, between thecost of airline operations and expectedrevenues on such routes. Under RCS UDAN-3, connectivity is further improved with 46tourism routes included for better connectivityof important tourist places including Iconicsites, out of which 21 routes have beenoperationalized to date.

1.27 Tourist Facilitation and InformationCounter caters to non-English speakingtourists and is also connected to the 24x7Helpline – ‘1363’ of the Tourism Ministrywhere the tourists can speak directly with theforeign language agents and get guidance in

Kolkata, St. Paul’s Cathedral



French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian,Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Arabic. It iscurrently available at New Delhi, Varanasi,Bodhgaya, Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai,Chennai, Guwahati and Hyderabad.

1.28 The Incredible India websiteshowcases range of new contents, includingGoogle 360 walkthroughs and stories, thatfeatures virtual content to provide tourists witha walk through of our tourist attractions. Inaddition, the Incredible India website providesmore personalised content across the globe,based on tourist interest and content designedto help the tourist make the right decisionsabout their visit to India, through more robustand regulated electronic content managementsolutions (ECM) and with advance analyticscapability of capturing the tourist engagementon Incredible India website.

1.29 ‘Incredible India’ mobile application,launched on 27th of September 2018, assistsinternational and domestic tourists to accessinformation about Ministry of Tourismrecognized tourism service providers namelyapproved Inbound Tour Operators, AdventureTour Operators, Domestic Tour Operators,Tourist Transport Operators, Travel Agents,Regional Level Guides, Classified Hotelsavailable in respective cities / Tourist centres.Details of the same will be given through thisapplication to the tourists on their mobilephones based on their current location. Touristcan also query similar details for any other cityhe plans to travel in future. In addition to this,the application will provide places of interest.

1.30 During the inaugural session of theBuddhist conclave on 23 August 2018, theMinistry launched websiteIndiathelandofbuddha.in. This website aims topromote and showcase the rich BuddhistHeritage in India and highlight the majordestinations visited by Buddha personally acrossthe country besides showcasing the BuddhistHeritage left behind by his disciples includingthe modern monasteries. Since launch (i.e. Aug23, 2018), we have had 1.43 M visitors on the

Buddhist website. Top five countries trafficinformation is as follows: United States (13.2%),Australia (10.1%), UK (9.7%), Singapore (8.5%),and Germany (8.0%).

1.31 The Ministry of Tourism successfullyorganized and celebrated Bharat Parvfrom January 26th to 31st, 2020 at Gyan Pathand grounds in front of Red Fort as part of theRepublic Day Celebrations. The CentralTheme of Bharat Parv 2020 was ‘150 Years ofthe Mahatma’. The objective of organizing theParv was to propagate the idea of ‘Ek BharatShreshtha Bharat’.

1.32 In order to recognize the efforts of State/UT Governments to maintain tourist placesclean, awards titled “Swachh Paryatan Sthaan”earlier known as Swachhta Award and ”BestCivic Management of a tourist destination inIndia Award under category A for city, B forTown / Urban Local Bodies and C for Villagehas been instituted by the Ministry.

1.33 For a better and smooth travelexperience of Tourists in the Restricted/Protectedareas of the country, Ministry of Tourismregularly coordinates with Ministry of HomeAffairs and as a result, Ministry of Home Affairshas relaxed the PAP/RAP for a further periodof 5 Years i.e. till 31.12.2022 in the states ofManipur, Mizoram and Nagaland and UnionTerritory of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

1.34 Under Adopt a Heritage- ‘ApniDharohar, Apni Pehchaan’ Project, 27Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) havebeen awarded to 12 Monument Mitras fortwenty-five (25) sites and two (2) Technologicalinterventions across India.

1.35 The Ministry of Tourism took timelycognizance of the COVID-19 crisis and engagedwith Industry Stakeholders to mitigate the risksand difficulties to foreign tourists on account ofimpact of the crisis. The Ministry has set upCOVID-19 cell to respond to crisis due toCOVID-19 and to provide support to theIndustry and foreign tourists during the crisis.

With a view to facilitating and extending



support to foreign tourists who were strandedin the country the Ministry had set up a portal‘Stranded in India’ to disseminateinformation regarding the services that couldbe availed by them. The portal helped touristsget information/details of State / UT TourismDepartments and Regional offices of Ministryof Tourism. The site also provided Helplinenumbers of the Ministry of Health & FamilyWelfare, Bureau of Immigration, Ministry ofTourism and Ministry of External Affairs.

The 24x7 Tourist Info-Helpline of the Ministryhad also received calls related to COVID 19and responded to them based on the advisories/ guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health& Family Welfare and other Ministries /Authorities.

1.36 With a view to preparing for a post-COVID 19 revival, the Ministry of Tourismformulated Operational Recommendations fordifferent segments of Tourism ServiceProviders in the Travel sector for facilitatingsmooth and safe resumption of business. Such

recommendations have been issued for TravelAgents, Tour Operators, Tourist TransportOperators, Tourist Guides and Facilitators.They were formulated in consultation withState Governments and tourism / hospitalitystakeholders and in keeping with the overallguidelines issued from time to time by theMinistry of Health.

1.37 The Ministry of Tourism has issuedmodified guidelines for Recognition of TourismService Providers dated 08.12.2020 whichwould be effective from January, 2021. As perthe modified guidelines, Category ofGreenshoot / Start-up- Agencies is beingintroduced for the first time. This is in keepingwith the policy of the Govt. of India forencouraging Start-Ups and will also further thecause of ‘Atmanirbhar India’. There will be norequirement of minimum Annual Turnoverand Previous Experience for this category.These provisions are in line with the Startuppolicy of the Govt. of India. The requirementof Paid Up Capital and number of staff willalso be less than for other categories.

Trimbakeshwar Nashik Maharashtra




CHAPTER-2

Ministry of Tourism and its Functions


CHAPTER

2 Ministry of Tourism andits Functions

2.1 The Organization

Ministry of Tourism is the nodal agency toformulate national policies and programmesfor the development and promotion of tourism.In the process, the Ministry consults andcollaborates with other stakeholders in the sectorincluding various Central Ministries/ Agencies,State Governments/ Union TerritoryAdministrations and the representatives of theprivate sector.

Shri Prahlad Singh Patel is the Minister of State(Independent Charge) for Tourism.

Secretary (Tourism) is the executive chief of theMinistry. The Directorate General of Tourism has20 Domestic field offices and an Indian Instituteof Skiing and Mountaineering within thecountry and 08 overseas offices. The overseasoffices promote Indian tourism in the marketsabroad.

The domestic field offices also play a vital rolefor promotion of tourism sector in the country.They are also involved in monitoring theprogress of implementation of projectssanctioned by the Ministry to the StateGovernments/Union Territories.

India Tourism Development Corporation(ITDC) is the only public sector undertakingunder the charge of the Ministry of Tourism.

The Ministry also has the followingautonomous institutions:

(i) Indian Institute of Tourism and TravelManagement (IITTM).

(ii) National Council for Hotel Managementand Catering Technology (NCHMCT);

and the Institutes of Hotel Management(IHMs).

(iii) Indian Culinary Institute (ICI).

2.2 Role and Functions of the Ministryof Tourism

2.2.1 The Ministry has the following mainfunctions:

1) All policy matters including:

a. Development Policiesb. Incentivesc. External Assistanced. Manpower Developmente. Promotion & Marketingf. Investment Facilitationg. Growth Strategies

2) Planning

3) Co-ordination with other Ministries,Departments, States/Union TerritoryAdministrations.

4) Regulation:

a. Standardsb. Guidelines

5) Infrastructure & Product Development:

a. Central Assistanceb. Distribution of Tourism Products

6) Research, Analysis, Monitoring andEvaluation

7) International Co-operation and ExternalAssistance:

a. International Bodiesb. Bilateral Agreementsc. External Assistanced. Foreign Technical Collaboration



8) Legislation and Parliamentary Work

9) Establishment Matters

10) Overall Review of the Functioning of theField Offices

11) Vigilance Matters

12) Official Language: Implementation ofOfficial Language Policy

13) VIP References

14) Budget Co-ordination and RelatedMatters

15) Plan Co-ordination

16) Overseas Marketing (OM) Work

17) Welfare, Grievances and Protocol

2.2.2 In addition to above, this Ministryhas also the following functions:

1) Assistance in the formulation of policiesby providing feedback from the fieldoffices

2) Monitoring of plan projects and assistingin the plan formulation

3) Co-ordinating the activities of the fieldoffices and their supervision

4) Regulation:

a. Approval and classification of hotels,

restaurants, Incredible India Bed &Breakfast (IIB&B) units

b. Approval of Travel Agents, TourOperators and Tourist TransportOperators, etc.

5) Inspection & Quality Control:

a. Guide serviceb. Complaints and redressal

6) Infrastructure Development:

a. Release of incentivesb. Tourist facilitation and informationc. Conventions & Conferences

7) Human Resource Development:

a. Developing HRD Institutionsb. Setting standards and guidelines

8) Publicity & Marketing:

a. Policyb. Strategiesc. Coordinationd. Supervisione. Promotion & Marketingf. Hospitality programmes

9) Parliamentary Work

10) Establishment Matters of Ministry ofTourism.

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Paragliding, Solang Valley, Manali




CHAPTER-3

Ministry of Tourism-Role, Synergy and

Convergence


CHAPTER

3 Ministry of Tourism-Role,

Synergy and Convergence

3.1 Role

The activities of this Ministry revolves aroundpromoting internal tourism, i.e. both inboundand domestic tourism, in India. This is necessaryin order to harness the direct and multipliereffect of tourism on employment and povertyeradication in the country. The other majorobjectives of the Ministry pertain projecting thecountry as a 365 days’ tourist destination,promoting tourism in a sustainable manner byactive participation of all segments of the society,assuring quality standards amongst tourismservice providers, etc. Apart from these, thefocus is also on integrated development oftourism infrastructure and facilities througheffective partnership with various stakeholders.The role of Government in tourism developmenthas been re-defined from that of a regulator tothat of a catalyst and requires synergy andconvergence with different stakeholders. Thismakes the task extremely challenging.

3.2 Synergy and Convergence

3.2.1 Stakeholders

The Ministry of Tourism’s constant endeavouris to ensure that the different segments of thetourism sector, Partner Ministries & theirexecuting arms (Organisations, Authorities,Bureaus, Partnerships, Corporations andUndertakings), State machineries and IndustryAssociations work in conjunction with oneanother keeping aspirations in sync with thelarger benefit of tourism.

3.2.2 Partner Ministries

In its bid to strive for convergence, the Ministryof Tourism works in close collaboration withvarious Ministries and Departments of theGovernment of India viz. Finance, ExternalAffairs, Culture, Civil Aviation, UrbanDevelopments, Road Transport & Highways,Railways, etc. and various States/UnionTerritory Administrations.

3.2.3 Executional Arms of theGovernment

The Ministry has a strong liaison with theexecutional / functional arms which are underthe aegis of different Ministries. These includeOrganisations, Authorities, Bureaus,Partnerships, Corporations and Undertakinglike Archaeological Survey of India(ASI),Bureau of Immigration (BOI), India TourismDevelopment Corporation (ITDC), IndianConvention Promotion Bureau (ICPB), PortTrust of India, Tourism Finance Corporation ofIndia (TFCI), Experience India Society etc.

3.2.4 Industry Associations

Ministry of Tourism is in constant dialogue withIndustry associations namely - Federation ofIndian Chambers of Commerce and Industry(FICCI), PHD Chamber of Commerce &Industry (PHDCCI), Associated Chambers ofCommerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM),Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), TravelAgents Association of India (TAAI), IndianAssociation of Tour Operators (IATO), Indian



Tourist Transport Association (ITTA), Associationof Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI),Adventure Tour Operators of India (ATOI),Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Association ofIndia (FHRAI), Hotel Association of India (HAI),Indian Heritage Hotel Association (IHHA),Federation of Associations of Indian Tourism andHospitality (FAITH), and All India ResortDevelopment Association (AIRDA) etc.

3.2.5 Inter-Ministerial CoordinationCommittee on Tourism Sector

Tourism is essentially a multi-sectoral activityrequiring linkages and coordination withvarious Ministries / Departments. The Ministryof Tourism has an effective mechanism in placeto facilitate resolution of Inter-Ministerial /Departmental issues involved in thedevelopment of tourism in the country, in theform of an Inter-Ministerial CoordinationCommittee for Tourism Sector (IMCCTS)constituted under the Chairmanship of theCabinet Secretary.

This Committee includes the Secretaries fromthe Ministries of Home, Defence, ExternalAffairs, Road Transport & Highways, CivilAviation, Culture, Rural Development,Environment & Forest, Urban Development,Labour and Employment, Departments ofRevenue, Expenditure, School Education &Literacy, Chairman, Railway Board, etc.Secretary, Ministry of Tourism is the MemberConvener of the Committee. Eight meetings ofthe Committee have been held to date.

3.2.6 Constitution of Tourism Task Force

Based on the recommendations of the Sectoralgroups of Secretaries (SGoS) on the TourismSectoral Plan, a Task Force has also beenconstituted under the chairmanship ofSecretary (Tourism), with representatives fromother Ministries including Ministries of HomeAffairs, Civil Aviation, Railways/IRCTC, RoadTransport & Highways, Environment & Forests,Shipping and Sports to address various issues

related to tourism. These would include:

� Air, Rail and Road Connectivityidentifying tourist destinations forairport development, international anddomestic routes including North Easternregion, airports at tourist destinationswhich require setting up of custom andimmigration facilities, unused andunderused airports located in touristdestinations, introduction of touristtrains connecting important touristdestinations/sites including pilgrimagesites and upgradation of railway station,road connectivity of tourist destinations,

� Development and promotion of culturaland heritage sites including monumentsand museums,

� Promotion of niche tourism segmentsincluding cruise tourism, adventuretourism, etc.

� Ensuring safety and security of tourists

� Extending visa facilities to tourists

� Any other inter- Ministerial / interDepartmental issue impacting tourism

3.2.7 National Tourism Advisory Council

The National Tourism Advisory Council(NTAC) serves as a think tank of the Ministryof Tourism. The present NTAC was constituteon 27th October, 2016 under the chairmanshipof Hon’ble Minister (Tourism) with a tenure of3 years. The committee consists of importantMinistries, individual experts in the field oftravel and tourism management and Ex-officiomembers from industry associations. Twomeetings of the council were organized during2019-20. First meeting was organized on 12thApril, 2018 in Delhi and the second meeting washeld on 21st February, 2019 in Gujarat. Thethird meeting of the NTAC held on 4th October2019 at VIP Lounge, Paryatan Parv, RajpathLawns, New Delhi.

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CHAPTER-4

Tourism Infrastructure Development


CHAPTER

4 Tourism InfrastructureDevelopment

4.1.1 Integrated Development of TouristCircuits around Specific Themes -SWADESH DARSHAN: Swadesh Darshanscheme, launched during 2014-15, has a visionto develop theme based tourist circuits on theprinciples of high tourist value, competitivenessand sustainability in an integrated manner bysynergizing efforts to focus on needs andconcerns of all stakeholders to enrich touristexperience and enhance employmentopportunities. Under the scheme fifteen thematiccircuits have been identified for development,namely: NorthEast India Circuit, BuddhistCircuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit,Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit,Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit,Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit, HeritageCircuit, Tirthankar Circuit & Sufi Circuit. Sincethe inception of the scheme, a total of 76 projectshave been sanctioned covering thematic circuitsfor a revised sanction amount of Rs. 5684.67Crore out of which Rs. 4278.88 Crore (as on31.12.2020) have been release.

4.1.2 The ‘National Mission on PilgrimageRejuvenation and Spiritual, AugmentationDrive’ (PRASAD) has been launched by theMinistry of Tourism with the objective of holisticdevelopment of identified pilgrimage andheritage destinations. The scheme aimed atinfrastructure development such asdevelopment/up gradation of destination entrypoints viz. passenger terminals (of road, rail andwater transport), basic conveniences like tourismInformation/Interpretation Centers with ATM/Money exchange counters, improvement of roadconnectivity (last mile connectivity), procurement

of equipment for eco-friendly modes of transportand equipment for tourist activities such as Light& Sound Show, water/adventure sports,renewable sources of energy for touristinfrastructure, parking facilities, toilets, cloakroom facilities, waiting rooms, construction ofcraft haats/bazars / souvenir shops/cafeteria, rainshelters, watch towers, first aid centers,improvement in communication throughestablishing telephone booths, mobile services,internet connectivity, Wi-Fi hotspot. In addition,Shoreline development & rejuvenation of naturalwater bodies have also been included. In viewof the decision taken by the Government forclosure of HRIDAY scheme of the Ministry ofHousing and Urban Development and forinclusion of projects for development of Heritagedestinations in PRASAD Scheme, the schemeguidelines have been modified and thenomenclature of the scheme has also beenchanged from PRASAD to “National Missionon Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual,Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD)” inOctober 2017.

As on date total number of sites identified fordevelopment under the scheme at present are57 in 29 states/UTs. These sites are Amaravati,Srisailam and Simhachalam (Andhra Pradesh),Parasuram Kund (Lohit District, ArunachalPradesh), Kamakhya and SrikrishnaguruSevashram, Nasatra (Assam), Patna and Gaya(Bihar), Balmeshwari Devi Temple(Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh), St. Bom JesusChurch (Goa), Dwarka, Somnath and Ambajiin Banaskantha (Gujarat), Panchkula fordevelopment of Gurudwara Nada Saheb and



Maa Mansha Devi Temple (Haryana), MaaChintpurni (Una, Himachal Pradesh),Hazratbal, Katra and Sundarbani in Rajauridistrict (Jammu & Kashmir), Deogarh andParasnath (Jharkhand), Chamundeshwari Devi(Mysuru District, Karnataka), Guruvayoor, St.Thomas International Shrine, Cheraman JumaMosque (Kerala), Chawkihang Vihara (Leh),Omkareshwar and Amarkantak (MadhyaPradesh), Trimbakeshwar (Maharashtra),Charanthala Durga Temple-Babedpara,Nartiang Shakti Temple, Nongsawlia Church-Sohra, Madan Air Nar Sacred Pool Near Jowai(Meghalaya), Changsil Kai- Sairang,Presbyterian Church- Dawrpui, Khawruhlian,Solomon’s Temple, Kidron Valley and Serkawr(Mizoram), Cathedral of Kohima, NoksenChurch, Mission Compound, Aizuto,Molungkimong and Vankhosung-Wokha(Nagaland), Puri (Odisha), Amritsar and Roparfor development of Chamkaur Sahib (Punjab),Ajmer (Rajasthan), Yuksom (Sikkim),Kanchipuram, Vellankani and Rameshwaram(Tamil Nadu), Jogulamba Devi Temple(Telangana) Tripura Sundari- Agartala (Tripura),Varanasi, and Mathura (Uttar Pradesh),

Badrinath, Kedarnath and Gangotri- Yamunotri(Uttarakhand) and Belur (West Bengal).

Since its launch in January 2015 and as on datethe Ministry has sanctioned 36 projects in 24states (upto mid Jan. 2021) with estimatedexpenditure of Rs. 1160.55 crore and acumulative amount of Rs. 622.08 crore has beenreleased for these project from FY 2014-15 toDec. 2020.

4.1.3 ICONIC TOURIST SITES: Pursuantto budget announcements in 2018-19 and 2019-20, the Ministry of Tourism has framed‘Development of Iconic Tourist DestinationsScheme’, a Central Sector Scheme fordevelopment of nineteen identified iconicdestinations in the country. A total number of19 destinations have now been identified fordevelopment under this scheme. TheExpenditure Finance Committee in its meetingheld on 15th October, 2020 recommended theproposal of the Ministry of Tourism fordevelopment of 19 Iconic Tourist Destinationsas Central Sector Scheme with an outlay of Rs.5109 Crore for the period of FY 2020-21 to FY2025-26. The proposal has now been processed

Bangalore Palace, Bangalore, Karnataka



for approval of the competent authority. Theidentified sites/ destinations under this initiativeare the following:-

(i). Kaziranga National Park (Assam)

(ii). Maha Bodhi temple (Bihar)

(iii). Humayun’s Tomb (Delhi)

(iv). Qutub Minar (Delhi)

(v). Red Fort (Delhi)

(vi). Colva Beach (Goa)

(vii). Dholavira (Gujarat)

(viii). Somnath (Gujarat)

(ix). Statue of Unity (Gujarat)

(x). Hampi (Karnataka)

(xi). Kumarakom (Kerala)

(xii). Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh)

(xiii). Ajanta caves (Maharashtra)

(xiv). Ellora caves (Maharashtra)

(xv). Konark (Odisha)

(xvi). Amer Fort (Rajasthan)

(xvii).Mamallapuram (Tamil Nadu)

(xviii). Fatehpur Sikri (Uttar Pradesh)

(xix). Taj Mahal (Uttar Pradesh)

The Ministry proposes to carry out thedevelopment at these sites in collaboration withCentral Ministries which includes Ministry ofCulture, Ministry of Road Transport andHighways, Ministry of Shipping, Ministry ofHousing and Urban Affairs, Ministry ofRailways, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministryof Industry and Commerce, Ministry ofEnvironment and Forests, Ministry of SkillDevelopment, Ministry of Textiles, Ministry ofDrinking Water & Sanitation and Ministry ofDevelopment of North Eastern Region, StateGovernments, Urban Local Bodies, LocalCommunity and Industry players/ Privatesector.

4.1.4 Assistance to Central Agencies fortourism infrastructure development:Development of tourism infrastructure attourism destinations could create a critical massfor achieving its targeted objectives and othersocioeconomic benefits to the society. The

Bhupen Hazarika Setu-Tinsukia, Assam



holistic development of tourism infrastructureat all important tourist destinations throughCentral Financial Assistance(CFA) to the States/UTs may not be possible since, many of thepotential destinations are under thejurisdictions/ control of Central Agencies likeASI, Railways, Port Trusts in India, ITDC etc.and the overall development of places of touristinterest under their control may not be possiblethrough their own resources and may requireconvergence of resources, expertise andexperience for maintenance and managementafter development. In order to remove theseshortcomings and to bring in the activeparticipation of the Central Agencies, the touristinterest assets owned by Central/StateGovernments/UT Administrations/CentralAgencies which have potential can be developedthrough Central Agency. 22 Railway stationsfor development of tourism amenities underjoint development with Ministry of Railwaysand Ministry of Tourism (50:50 cost sharingbasis) have been sanctioned for the cost of Rs108.53 Cr as on December, 2020. A total ofRs.46.83 crore has been released to various

Central Agencies for creation of tourisminfrastructure related 2019-20.

4.1.5 Viability Gap Scheme for RevenueGenerating Tourism Projects: Developmentof tourism infrastructure requires largeinvestments that cannot be undertaken out ofpublic financing alone, and that in order toattract private capital as well as the techno-managerial efficiencies associated with it, theScheme is meant to promote Public PrivatePartnerships (PPPs) in tourism infrastructuredevelopment. Viability Gap Funding under thescheme is normally in the form of a capital grantat the stage of project construction.

4.1.6 Assistance for Organizing fairs /festivals/ tourism related events: TheMinistry of Tourism extends financial supportof upto Rs.50 lakh per State and Rs.30 lakh perUT under the Domestic Publicity andPromotion including Hospitality Scheme fororganizing fairs/festivals/tourism relatedevents. A total of Rs.1.90 crore has been releasedto various States/UTs for organizing fairs andfestivals in the year 2020.

Birla Mandir, Jaipur

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CHAPTER-5

New Tourism Products

(Niche Tourism)


CHAPTER

5 New Tourism Products

(Niche Tourism)

Identification, diversification, development, andpromotion of niche tourism products in thecountry is the initiative of the Ministry toovercome the aspect of ‘seasonality’ and topromote India as a 365 days’ destination, toattract tourists with specific interest, and toensure repeat visits for the unique products inwhich India has a comparative advantage. Thus,new products may be added in due course. TheMinistry of Tourism has constituted Board/ TaskForces/ Committees for the promotion of Golf,Medical/Wellness, Cruise and AdventureTourism in the country. Guidelines have alsobeen formulated by the Ministry to support Golf,Polo, Medical and Wellness Tourism.Accordingly, the following Niche Products havebeen identified by the Ministry of Tourism fordevelopment and promotion:

i. Cruise

ii. Adventure

iii. Medical

iv. Wellness

v. Golf

vi. Polo

vii. Meetings Incentives Conferences &Exhibitions(MICE)

viii. Eco-tourism

ix. Film Tourism

x. Sustainable Tourism

xi. Rural Tourism

5.1 CRUISE TOURISM

The Ministry of Tourism provides CentralFinancial Assistance (CFA) to the StateGovernments/ UT Administrations/ Central

Government Agencies for development ofTourism including Cruise Tourism andCruising along rivers. The Ministry of Tourismhas also sanctioned various projects for thedevelopment of Cruise Terminals and relatedinfrastructure in Andhra Pradesh, Goa,Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu at themajor ports for Rs.151.79 Crore under theScheme for ‘Assistance to Central Agencies forTourism Infrastructure Development’.

5.1.1 Task Force on Cruise Tourism

The coastline of the country and it’s inlandwaterways have enormous potential to developcruise tourism, both international and domestic.To harness this, a Task Force has been constitutedwith Secretary (Tourism) as the Chairman andSecretary (Shipping) as the Co-chairman. TheTask Force consists of representatives from theports, Ministries of Health, Home Affairs,External Affairs, Customs, CISF, Coastal States,etc. and meets regularly. On therecommendation of the Task Force, Ministry ofShipping and Ministry of Tourism have jointlyappointed a consultant for preparing Action Planfor the development of Cruise Tourism in India.The Consultant has prepared a report whichprovides a roadmap and action plan that isneeded to move India from its current positionto become a preferred cruise destination in theworld. On the recommendation of Task Force,the following measures were taken for thedevelopment of cruise tourism:

� Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)have been formulated to be followed bythe various agencies for handling cruiseships. The SOPs have been revised



during November, 2017 and sinceoperationalized at all major ports.

� The facility for e-tourist visa has beenextended to passengers arriving at theseports of Mumbai, Mormugao,Mangalore, Kochi and Chennai andimmigration counters have been set upat five major ports visited by cruiseships, thus facilitating the cruisepassenger arrivals at the seaports.

� Biometric requirements: The Ministryof Home Affairs has waived offbiometric requirements for cruisepassengers arriving on e-visa for aperiod of three years i.e up to31.12.2020. This measure is facilitatingexpeditious immigration clearances ofcruise passengers with e-visa, thusenabling them to spend more time onshore. Exemption of biometric onarrival of cruise is an important decidingcriterion for cruise lines to include adestination in their itinerary.

� To address manpower, coordination andlogistic issues for handling cruise vesselsat ports, “Port Level FacilitationCommittees” have been formed underthe respective Chairman of the majorports to facilitate seamless handling ofcruise ships and passengers.

� Foreign flag vessels carrying passengershave been allowed to call at Indian portsfor a period of 10 years with effect from6th February, 2009 without obtaining alicence from Director General ofShipping. This facility has beenextended further for a period of 5 yearsi.e. up to 5th February, 2024.

The last meeting of the Task Force on CruiseTourism was held on 06.01.2021. The meetingwas attended by various Central, StateGovernments and Industry Stakeholders.During the meeting, detailed deliberations weremade on the following issues:-

(i) Review of SOPs for Cruise tourism.

(ii) Development of Infrastructure atvarious ports/cruise terminals.

(iii) Tax related issues for promotion of cruisetourism.

(iv) Incentives for cruise and water transporton lines of “UDAN” Scheme.

(v) Making India “The CruiseDevelopment Hub” of the world.

5.1.2 Ocean Cruise

The Cruise Shipping Policy of the Ministry ofShipping was approved by the Government ofIndia on 26th June, 2008. The objectives of thepolicy are to make India as an attractive cruisetourism destination with the state-of-the-artinfrastructural and other facilities at variousports in the country.

5.1.3 River Cruise

Financial assistance is extended for constructionof Double Hull Boats, constitution of Jetties,Cruise Vessels, Boats, etc. to various States/UTs.

5.1.4 Identification of Cruise Circuits anddevelopment of necessary infrastructure

In the meeting chaired by the Hon’ble PrimeMinister on 21st June2014, it was decided thatthe Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry ofTourism would jointly identify the routes forcarrying out cruise tours on waterways and alsotake measures to develop necessaryinfrastructure. Accordingly, a Working Groupwas constituted to examine the modalities ofcruise tours connecting religious places andother related issues. The composition of theWorking Group is as follows:

(i) IWAI – 1 member from HQ and LocalDirector/Incharge;

(ii) Ministry of Tourism – 1 member fromMinistry and 1 representative from theState Tourism Department;

(iii) Domestic Tour Operators – 1 member;

(iv) Cruise Operators –2 representatives



from cruise operators operating in eachwaterway.

(v) In its report, the Working Group hasidentified 8 Tourist Circuits on NW-1and NW-2

The Working Group has also identified keyissues and challenges pertaining todevelopment of these circuits which, inter alia,include:

(i) Development of infrastructure includingall weather navigable channels withrequisite navigable aids and properberthing facilities;

(ii) Provision of tourist amenities includingmaintenance of law and order atterminals, jetties, riverfronts etc., and

(iii) Proper maintenance of tourist places

5.2 ADVENTURE TOURISM

Adventure tourism involves exploration ortravel to remote and exotic areas. Anyconstructive activity which tests the enduranceof both a person and his equipment to itsextreme limitis termed as Adventure.

Adventure tourism is rapidly growing inpopularity as a tourist seeks different kinds ofvacations.

5.2.1 Initiatives of Ministry of Tourism toPromote Adventure Tourism

The Ministry of Tourism has issued Guidelinesfor the Approval of Adventure Tour Operators,which is a voluntary scheme, open to all bona-fide Adventure Tour Operators.

� The Ministry of Tourism had alsoformulated a set of guidelines in 2012 on“Safety and Quality Norms onAdventure Tourism” as “Basic MinimumStandards for Adventure TourismActivities”. These guidelines have beenreviewed and the revised guidelines‘Indian Adventure Tourism Guidelines’(Version2.0) have been launched on 31stMay 2018 which cover 31 verticalsinvolving land, air and water in respectof adventure tourism activities. TheseGuidelines have been uploaded on thewebsite of the Ministry of Tourism titledwww.tourism.gov.in. The same have

Kuttanadu Backwaters Alappuzha, Kerala



also been forwarded to the StateGovernments and Union TerritoryAdministrations for compliance.

� The Central Financial Assistance is beingextended to various State Governments/ Union Territory Administrations fordevelopment of Tourism Infrastructurein destinations including AdventureTourism destinations.

� A Task Force on Adventure Tourism hasbeen set up in October 2016 withSecretary (Tourism) as Chairman to actas a forum for resolving issues relatedto development and promotion ofAdventure Tourism in the country. Thefirst meeting of the Adventure TourismTask Force was held on 21.12.2016 andthe last meeting was held on 11.08.2017.

5.3 MEDICAL TOURISM

Medical Tourism (also called medical travel,health tourism or global healthcare) is a termused to describe the rapidly-growing practice oftravelling across international borders to obtainhealthcare. Services typically sought by travelersinclude elective procedures as well as complexspecialized surgeries such as joint replacement(knee/ hip), cardiac surgery, dental surgery, andcosmetic surgeries. However, virtually every typeof healthcare, including psychiatry, alternativetreatments, and convalescent care is available inIndia.

Besides India, there are several Asiandestinations like Singapore, Malaysia andThailand that are offering Medical care facilitiesand promoting Medical Tourism. India excelsamong them for the following reasons:

(i) State-of-the-Art Medical facilities

(ii) Reputed Health Care Professionals

(iii) Quality Nursing facilities

(iv) No waiting time for availing themedical services

(v) India’s traditional healthcare therapieslike Ayurveda and Yoga combined with

allopathic treatment provide holisticwellness.

5.3.1 The Medical Tourism activity is mainlydriven by the private sector. The Ministry ofTourism has only the role of a facilitator in termsof marketing this concept and promoting thisin the key markets. The Ministry of Tourismhas taken several steps to promote India as aMedical and Health Tourism Destination,which are as follows:

(i) Brochure, CDs and other publicitymaterial to promote Medical and healthtourism have been produced by theMinistry of Tourism and have beenwidely distributed and circulated forpublicity in target markets.

(ii) Medical and health tourism have beenspecifically promoted at variousinternational platforms such as WorldTravel Mart, London, ITB, Berlin,Arabian Travel Mart etc.

(iii) ‘Medical Visa’ has been introduced,which can be given for specific purposeto foreign travelers coming to India formedical treatment. ‘E-Medical Visa’ hasalso been introduced for 166 countries.

5.3.2 Constitution of National Medical &Wellness Tourism Board

In order to provide dedicated institutionalframework to take forward the cause ofpromotion of Medical Tourism, WellnessTourism and Yoga, Ayurveda Tourism and anyother format of Indian system of medicinecovered by Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha andHomeopathy (AYUSH), Ministry hasconstituted a National Medical & WellnessTourism Board with the Hon’ble Minister(Tourism) as its Chairman. The Board worksas an umbrella organization that promotes thissegment of tourism in an organized manner.

5.3.3 The 5th meeting of the National Medicaland Wellness Tourism Board was heldon14.12.2020. During the meeting, it wasdecided to constitute sub groups, having



representations from different Govt andindustry stakeholders, on (i) Examining thedemands for liberalizing the visa regime andfacilitation at the Airport and (ii) variousstrategies for enhancing insurance coverage.The sub groups will go into details of respectiveareas and given their recommendations in atime bound manner, which will be deliberatedand finalized in the next meeting. Hon’bleMinister while concluding the meeting assuredthat Ministry will promote medical and wellnesstourism in right earnest and the challenges suchas facilitation, language interpreters,accreditation of hospitals etc will be addressed.

5.3.4 Fiscal Incentives Provided byMinistry of Tourism for Development ofMedical Tourism

For participation in approved Medical/ TourismFairs/ Medical Conferences/ WellnessConferences/ Wellness Fairs and its allied RoadShows, Ministry of Tourism provides financialsupport under Market Development Assistance(MDA) scheme. This scheme was extended tothe Medical Tourism Service Providers andWellness Tourism Service Providers during the

year 2009. Financial support under the MDAscheme is being provided to approved medicaltourism service providers, i.e., the representativesof Hospitals accredited by Joint Commission forInternational Accredited Hospitals (JCI) andNational Accreditation Board of Hospitals(NABH) and Medical Tourism facilitators/ TravelAgents/ Tour Operators engaged in MedicalTourism and approved by Ministry of Tourism,Government of India.

5.4 WELLNESS TOURISM

Wellness Tourism is about travelling for theprimary purpose of achieving, promoting andmaintaining maximum health and a sense ofwell-being. Most of the hotels/resorts arecoming up with Ayurveda Centres. The leadingtour operators have included Ayurveda in theirbrochures.

5.4.1 The Ministry of Tourism providesfinancial assistance under the MarketDevelopment Assistance Scheme (MDA) toapproved wellness centres, i.e., representativesof wellness centres accredited by NABH or theState Governments. The MDA assistance is for

Rishikesh, Uttarakhand



participation in Medical/Tourism Fairs, MedicalConferences, Wellness Conferences, WellnessFairs and allied Road Shows. In addition, thesteps taken by the Government to promotemedical/ health tourism include promotion inoverseas markets through road shows,participation in travel marts, and productionof brochures, CDs, films and other publicitymaterial. Health tourism has been specificallypromoted at various international platformssuch as World Travel Mart, London, ITB, Berlin.

5.4.2 Yoga/ Ayurveda/ Wellness has beenpromoted in the past years in the print,electronic, internet and outdoor medium underthe Ministry of Tourism’s “Incredible IndiaCampaign”.

5.4.3 A draft Strategy paper for developmentof Medical Tourism in the Country coveringmainly the following points is under finalizationin consultation with different Ministries, StateGovernments and Industry Stakeholders:-

i. India as a destination for MedicalTourism

ii. Mitigating the impact of Covid-19

iii. Strategies for promoting MedicalTourism etc.

5.5 GOLF TOURISM

5.5.1 The Ministry of Tourism has framedguidelines for extending financial support forpromotion of golf tourism. These guidelinesaddress issues including inter-alia, training andcapacity building for the service providers, andparticipation in international & domestic events,related events and making available qualitypublicity material.

5.5.2 The Ministry of Tourism has alsoconstituted the India Golf Tourism Committee(IGTC) with Secretary (Tourism) as theChairman, which is the nodal body for golftourism in the country.

5.5.3 The Ministry invites Expressions ofInterest (EOI) from the Golf Clubs, Golf EventManagers, State Governments/ UTAdministrations, Approved Tour Operators/

Approved Travel Agents and Corporate Housesseeking financial support from the Ministry ofTourism for Golf Events, Golf Shows, GolfPromotional Workshops/ Events/ AnnualMeetings/ Seminars eligible for financialsupport, with a view to promote Golf Tourismto and/or within India under Incredible Indiabrand as well as to provide an opportunity forthese events to use the association with theIncredible India brand to achieve internationalstandards. Applications received through EOIare evaluated by the India Golf TourismCommittee (IGTC) in its meetings held fromtime to time.

5.5.4 The Ministry of Tourism has undertakenan Evaluation Study of the “Guidelines forSupport of the Ministry of Tourism forPromoting Golf Tourism” and Evaluation of theFinancial Support provided under this Schemethrough National Productivity Council.

5.6 POLO TOURISM

The Ministry of Tourism promotes Polo as“Heritage Sport” of India in collaboration withthe Indian Polo Association and has formulatedguidelines identifying broad areas of supportfor promotion of this game as Niche TourismProduct.

Ministry has sponsored International WomenPolo Tournament from 17th to 21st January,2020 at Manipur.

5.7 MEETINGS INCENTIVESCONFERENCES AND EXHIBITIONS(MICE)

The Ministry of Tourism has developedguidelines for extending financial supportunder Market Development Assistance (MDA)scheme to ‘Active Members’ of IndiaConvention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) towardsbidding for International Conferences/Conventions, thereby bringing more MICEbusiness to the country. Under the scheme,associations/ societies are given financial supporton winning the bid or obtaining second andthird positions in the bidding process, subjectto the terms and conditions.



5.7.1 Initiatives taken by the Ministry ofTourism for promotion of MICE.

Amendment in the guidelines for promotion ofMICE under Champion Services Sector Scheme(CSSS) in order to give relief to the MICEindustry in difficult time of COVID-19, theMinistry has amended the followingcomponents vide OM dated 14.08.2020:

1) The number of minimumparticipants have been reduced from500 to 250 to be eligible for the incentive

2) The incentive of the GST is nowextended for 2 (two) nights in place ofexisting one 1 (one) night.

Ministry has sponsored 13th CIC held on 30th

and 31st October, 2020 at J. W. Marriott NewDelhi through Virtual as well as physical mode.

5.8 PROMOTION OF ECO-TOURISM

5.8.1 The Ministry recognizes followingcardinal principles for development of eco-tourism:

(i) It should involve the localcommunity and lead to the overalleconomic development of the area.

(ii) It should identify the likely conflictsbetween use of resources for eco-tourismand the livelihood of local inhabitantsand attempt to minimize such conflicts.

(iii) The type and scale of eco-tourismdevelopment should be compatible withthe environment and socio-culturalcharacteristics of the local community; and

(iv) It should be planned as a part of theoverall area development strategy,guided by an integrated land-use planwhile avoiding inter-sectoral conflictsand ensuring sectoral integrationassociated with commensurateexpansion of public services.

5.8.2 The Ministry of Environment, Forestand Climate Change, Government of India hasrecently prepared ‘Policy for Eco-Tourism inForest and Wild Life Areas’ and the Ministry of

Tourism has extended support to this Policy.

5.8.3 Eco-friendly measures to beadopted by the Hotels

The Ministry of Tourism has laid downguidelines for approval of Hotel Projects at theimplementation stage and also guidelines forclassification of operational hotels under variouscategories. As per these guidelines, hotels at theproject stage itself are required to incorporatevarious eco-friendly measures like SewageTreatment Plant (STP), rain water harvestingsystem, waste management system etc. Oncethe hotel is operational, it can apply forclassification under a Star category to the Hotel& Restaurant Approval ClassificationCommittee (HRACC) of the Ministry. Duringthe physical inspection of the hotel by HRACCCommittee, it is ensured that in addition to theafore-mentioned measures, other measures likepollution control, introduction of non-CFCequipment for refrigeration and airconditioning, measures for energy and waterconservation are also undertaken by the hotel.

5.8.4 Under the guidelines for project level &classification/ re-classification of operationalhotels, it has been prescribed that thearchitecture of the hotel buildings in hilly andecologically fragile areas should keep in mindsustainability and energy efficiency and as faras possible be in conformity with the local ethosand use local materials.

5.9 PROMOTION OF SUSTAINABLE/RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

The Ministry of Tourism has evolvedComprehensive Sustainable Tourism Criteria(STCI) for major segments of the tourismindustry, namely accommodation, touroperators, Beaches, Backwaters, Lakes andRiver sectors applicable for the entire country.The Criteria have been evolved afterconsultations with the various stakeholders. TheMinistry is considering to renew aMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) withthe Responsible Tourism Society of India(RTSOI) earlier known as Eco Tourism Society



of India (ESOI) to inform and educate tourismstakeholders about the importance ofSustainable and Responsible Tourism practicesand ensuring and promoting Sustainable andResponsible practices in the tourism industry.The target group includes hoteliers, touroperators, individuals from transport industry,resort managers, tourist guides, communityrepresentatives and government departments(culture, forest, environment, ArchaeologicalSurvey of India (ASI), museums, districtofficials) etc. A total of 5 such Workshops atJaipur, Goa, Guwahati, Bhopal andAhmedabad have been held so far.

5.10 FILM TOURISM

The Ministry of Tourism has issued guidelines(dated 25.07.2012) for extending financialsupport to State Governments/ Union TerritoryAdministrations, for promotion of ‘FilmTourism’. The financial assistance is providedup to Rs.2.00 Lakh per film for componentssuch as Space Hiring/ Filming charges,Facilitation Fee etc. In an endeavour to establishIndia as a filming destination, the Ministry ofTourism is making all efforts to promoteCinema of India as a sub-brand of “Incredible

India” at various International Film Festivalslike IFFI Goa, European Film Market, CannesFilm festival and markets abroad, to developsynergy between Tourism and the film industryand to provide a platform for enablingpartnerships between the Indian and globalfilm industry.

Ministry has supported Global Film FestivalSikkim held from 28th February to 1st March,2020 to showcase Film Tourism.

5.11 Rural Tourism

A draft “National Strategy on Rural Tourism –an initiative towards Atamnirbhar Bharat” inthe Country covering mainly the followingpoints is under finalization in consultation withdifferent Ministries, State Governments andIndustry Stakeholders:-

(i) Rural Tourism and AtamNirbharBharat

(ii) SWOT Analysis of Rural Tourism

(iii) Vision Mission and Goals

(iv) Key Strategic Pillars

(v) Governance and institutionalMechanism

Silvassa Vasona Lion Safari- Dadar and Nagar Haveli


��



CHAPTER-6

Hotels and Travel–Trade


CHAPTER

6 Hotels and Travel–Trade

6.1 Approval and Classification ofHotels

To conform to the expected standards fordifferent classes of tourists, especially from thepoint of view of suitability for internationaltourists, this Ministry classifies hotels under thestar rating system. Under this system, hotelsare given a rating, from One Star to Three Star,Four and Five Star with or without alcohol, FiveStar Deluxe, Heritage (Basic), Heritage(Classic), Heritage (Grand), Legacy Vintage(Basic), Legacy Vintage (Classic) and LegacyVintage (Grand). The classification is done onthe basis of inspection of hotels which isundertaken by the Hotel and RestaurantApproval and Classification Committee(HRACC), set up by this Ministry. To expeditethe process of classification / re-classification offunctioning hotel in one Star to three Starcategories five Regional Committee located inDelhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati andChennai have been authorized to conduct / co-ordinate inspection. The Guidelines forClassification /Re-Classification of operationalhotels have been revised on 19.01.2018.

6.2 Online submission of ApplicationsProject level Approval, Classification/re-classification of Hotels

Ministry has introduced online system ofreceiving, processing and conveying/ grantingapprovals for hotel project, Hotel classification /re-classification status to functioning hotels andproject level approval for hotel underconstruction. This online process has also beenintegrated with payment gateway. Theapplications for the classification of hotels in the

star category, heritage category, legacy vintagecategory and operational motels and also forproject approval can be filed on http://hotelcloud.nic.in.

6.3 Other categories of Accommodationunits approved

The Ministry of Tourism also approvesTimeshare Resorts, Apartment Hotels, GuestHouses, Bed & Breakfast / HomestayEstablishments, Tented Accommodation,Online Travel Aggregators, Stand - alone AirCatering Units, Convention Centres andStandalone Restaurants under its voluntaryschemes.

6.3.1 Heritage Hotels

The popular concept of Heritage Hotels wasintroduced to convert the old palaces, havelis,castles, forts and residences built prior to 1950,into accommodation units that reproduce theambience and lifestyle of the bygone era. Suchhotels are categorized under three categoriesviz. Heritage, Heritage Classic and HeritageGrand based on the standards of facility andservices as per the applicable Guidelines. Witheffect from 16.12.2014, a new category ofheritage hotel i.e. Heritage Classic (withoutalcohol services) has been introduced.

6.3.2 Legacy Vintage Hotels

The concept of Legacy Vintage Hotels has beenintroduced to cover hotels constructed/ builtwith materials from heritage properties /buildings (i.e. properties or buildings whichwere build / constructed/ erected prior to theyear 1950), provided that at least 50% of the



material used to construct / build the hotel issourced from heritage properties or buildings.Such hotels will help recreate the ambience andatmosphere of the bygone era. Such hotels willbe classified under 3 sub-categories namelyLegacy Vintage (Basic), Legacy Vintage(Classic) and Legacy Vintage (Grand).Guidelines for Classification / Re-Classificationof Legacy Vintage Hotels have been notifiedon 19.04.2018.

6.3.3 Approval of Standalone Restaurants

Restaurants are an integral part of a Tourist’s visitto a place and as such the services offered bythem can make or mar a visit. Restaurants areincreasingly becoming popular with the tourist– both domestic and foreign as they intend toenjoy the taste of authentic food, particularlycuisine of different States in the country. Withthe aim of providing standardized world classservices to the tourists, the Govt. of India,Department of Tourism has a voluntary schemefor approval of restaurants in the country.

6.3.4 Approval of Apartment Hotels

Apartment Hotels are increasingly becomingpopular with business travellers who visit Indiafor assignments or family holidays, etc., whichsometimes prolong for months together. Witha view to providing standardized, world classservices to the tourists, the Ministry hasintroduced a voluntary scheme for classificationof fully operational Apartment hotels in the fiveStar deluxe, five star, four star and three starcategories.

6.3.5 Approval of Motels

Motels are an important segment of thehospitality sector which provide budgetaccommodation. Motels cater to the hospitalityrequirements of road travelers through thefacilities and services offered by them, with therooms usually arranged in low blocks withparking directly outside. With the aim ofrecognizing this segment as a component of theoverall tourism product, and benchmark thestandards of facilities and services of Motels, the

Ministry of Tourism has formulated a voluntaryscheme for Approval of Operational Motels.The Guidelines for approval of operationalmotels have been notified on 25.09.2018.

6.3.6 Approval of Guest Houses

In order to augment supply of hotelaccommodation for budget tourists, bothdomestic and foreign, the Ministry reviewed andrevised the Guidelines for the approval of GuestHouses to meet certain standards of cleanliness,hygiene and upgraded facilities and practices.The revised guidelines were aimed at addressingthe changing requirements and safety andsecurity concerns. Emphasis has been laid onmeasures for Cleanliness, Health, Hygiene andPest Control. Guest Houses and other types ofaccommodation units are approved under thisscheme if they meet certain standards of facilitiesand services. Such steps can potentially augmentnot only hotel accommodation in the budgetcategory, but also generate employment andrevenue for the States.

6.3.7 Approval and Classification ofTimeshare Resorts

Time Share Resorts (TSRs) are increasinglybecoming popular for leisure holidays and familyholidays, etc. With the aim of providingstandardized world class services to tourists, theGovernment of India, Ministry of Tourism has avoluntary scheme for classification of fullyoperational Time Share Resorts in three star, fourstar and five star categories.

6.3.8 Incredible India Bed & Breakfast /Homestay Scheme

The scheme offers foreign and domestic touristsan opportunity to stay with an Indian familyand enjoy the warm hospitality and get a tasteof Indian culture and cuisine in a clean andaffordable place. With a view to encourage thegrowth of such establishments and also tosimplify the procedure of approvals, thisMinistry has reviewed the scheme and hassimplified the guidelines. The Ministry ofTourism has been conducting sensitizationworkshops on promotion of Home stays/



Incredible India Bed & Breakfast Establishmentsin all States through its domestic offices. This isan ongoing process. The revised Guidelines forclassification and re-classification of IncredibleIndia Bed and Breakfast Establishments andIncredible India Homestay Establishments havebeen notified on 10.12.2018. These Guidelineswould constitute the Common NationalStandards which each State/ Union Territorywould adapt to their requirements, while keepingthe core tenets intact. The States/ UTs would befree to build upon and introduce suitableparameters/ criteria over and above theCommon National Standards. The Ministry ofTourism would continue to classify B&B/Homestay establishments in all States/ UTs tillsuch time the respective States/ UTs put in placetheir own mechanism for such classification,based upon the Common National Standards.The online module for application disposal hasbeen activated. The approved units are listed onthe website of the Ministry.

6.3.9 Approval of Stand - Alone AirCatering Units

This Ministry approves and classifies Stand-alone Air Catering Units in the country toensure international standards in the aircatering segment.

6.3.10 Approval of Convention Centres

Meeting, Incentives, Conferences andExhibitions (MICE) are important segments ofthe tourism industry. In a rapidly globalizinghigh growth Indian economy, MICE tourism isset to grow and the country is in need of moreConvention and Exhibition Centres to meet thisrequirement. To encourage investment andstandardize facilities in these areas, this Ministrygrants approval to Convention Centres.

6.3.11 Online Travel Aggregators (OTA’s)

The guidelines for the scheme of approval /re-approval of Online Travel Aggregators (OTA’s)have been formulated and notified on10.12.2018. The scheme is purely voluntary innature and it is not binding upon any OnlineTravel Aggregators to obtain accreditation from

the Ministry of Tourism.

6.3.12 Hospitality Development andPromotion Board (HDPB) for HotelProjects

Construction of hotels is primarily a privatesector activity which is capital intensive and hasa long gestation period. A constraint being facedby the hotel industry, in addition to the highcost and limited availability of land, is theprocurement of multiple clearances/ approvalsrequired from the Central and StateGovernment agencies for hotel projects. Thisoften results in delay in the implementation ofthe project, cost escalation, etc. To obviate theabove mentioned difficulties faced by thehospitality industry, Ministry of Tourism has setup a Hospitality Development and PromotionBoard (HDPB). The Main function of the boardincludes monitoring and facilitating theclearances / approvals of Hotel Projects, bothat the Central and the State Government level.The Board would be a single point for receivingapplications for various clearances, approving/ clearing hotel project proposals in a time-bound manner, and review hotel project policiesto encourage the growth of hotel/hospitalityinfrastructure in the country. The Board,however, will not in any way supersede thestatutory clearances of other agencies but willreview and monitor the clearances of hotelprojects with the concerned Ministries /Departments / Authorities by meeting on fixedschedule basis.

6.3.13 Harmonized Master List ofInfrastructure Sub – Sectors

Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India, on17thOctober, 2017 have notified the HarmonizedMaster List of Infrastructure Sub-Sectors toboost supply of hotel rooms in the countrywhich includes three Star or higher categoryclassified hotels located outside cities withpopulation of more than 1 million.

6.4 Incentives for the Tourism Sector

The GST (Goods and Services Tax) Councilannounced a cut in the tax rate on hotel room



tariffs, a move aimed at giving a boost to thehospitality sector. The GST rate on hotel roomswith tariffs of up to Rs 7,500 per night has beencut to 12% from the existing 18%. Similarly, thetax on room tariff of above Rs 7,500 has beenslashed to 18% from the existing 28%. Therewill be no GST on room tariffs of below Rs 1,000per night.

GST (Goods and Services Tax) Councilannounced a cut in the tax rate on hotel roomtariffs, a move aimed at giving a boost to thehospitality sector. The GST rate on hotel roomswith tariffs of up to Rs 7,500 per night has beencut to 12% from the existing 18%. Similarly, thetax on room tariff of above Rs 7,500 has beenslashed to 18% from the existing 28%. Therewill be no GST on room tariffs of below Rs 1,000per night.

The basis for determination of the applicablerate has been changed from declared tariff toactual tariff.

GST on restaurants eateries has been broughtdown to 5% irrespective of whether they are air-conditioned or not. If a restaurant is locatedwithin the premises of hotels, inns, guest houses,club or any commercial place meant forresidential or lodging purposes with a dailytariff of Rs.7500 per day per unit or above, thetax will be 18%.

6.5 NIDHI Scheme

On 8 June 2020, Ministry of Tourism launchedthe National Integrated Database of HospitalityIndustry (NIDHI) scheme which will serve as acommon repository of data about unclassifiedtourist accommodation units in the country andassist States/UTs to develop policies andstrategies for promotion and development oftourism at various destinations, help tourists tofind information on places for accommodationat any destination, assess the carrying capacityof various destinations, assess requirements forskilled human resources, facilitate preventiveaction and placing adequate safety measures todeal with untoward incidents such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the NIDHI Scheme, all types ofaccommodation units can be registered on theportal nidhi.nic.in. Registered units will be ableto avail other value added services such as: (a)System for Awareness, Assessment and Trainingfor Hospitality Industry (SAATHI) (b)Destination based skilling (c) MSME schemesand (d) Usage of digital and virtual technologiesto minimize physical contact in post COVID-19 era.

6.6 SAATHI Initiative

The global COVID 19 pandemic highlightedthe urgent need for all hospitality units to takesuitable measures to restrict any furthertransmission of the virus while providingaccommodation and other services postlockdown. To assist the hospitality industry intheir preparedness to continue operations safelyand mitigate risks arising out of the COVID-19pandemic, the Ministry of Tourism haspartnered with the Quality Council of India(QCI), to assist the Hospitality Industry throughan initiative called SAATHI (System forAssessment, Awareness and Training forHospitality Industry),. This initiative is alignedwith the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s clarion callfor “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. The idea is notonly to sensitize the industry on the COVIDregulations by the government but also to instillconfidence amongst the staff and guests thatthe hospitality unit has exhibited intent towardsensuring safety and hygiene at the workplace.

SAATHI aims to reach out to maximumhospitality units in 3 phases:

1. Self-Certification: This provides a detailedunderstanding of the Guidelines/key-elements to be followed. A hotel/unit goesthrough the SAATHI framework andagrees to follow the requirementswherever applicable to the fullest extentpossible. A self-certification is issued.

2. Webinars: This phase builds capacitiesof the Hotels on the SAATHI keyelements. Self-certified Hotel/unitsattend webinars to clarify doubtsthrough live interactions.



3. Site-assessment (optional): In this phaseon-ground implementation of theSOPs/Guidelines and identification ofgaps is undertaken. If Hotel/unit desires,they may undertake site-assessmentbased on SAATHI framework throughQCI accredited agencies and anassessment report with opportunities forimprovement is shared with the assessedunit.

Details of expenditure

Amount Released Rs. 5.00 lakh

Name of scheme Assistance to Tourism,Travel and HospitalityTrade Associations fortheir various events inIndia and abroad

Organization/ Indian Heritageevent Hotels Association for

their 8th AnnualConvention

6.7 Incredible India Tourist FacilitatorCertification Programme

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India,continuously endeavors to build capacity of allstakeholders with whom the visitor is likely tointeract desiring that each interaction results insuperior experience for the visitors. As tourismaround the world gets competitive, destinationsneed to differentiate themselves based on theirdistinct personalities and their ability to createa positive image in the minds of customers andprospective visitors to the country.

The objective of Incredible India TouristFacilitator (IITF) Certification Programmelaunched by the Ministry of Tourism, is toprovide online training and accreditation of theTour Facilitators through a centralized PANIndia e-learning module. The institution oftourist facilitators would be a basic componentof the infrastructural requirement both forInternational and Domestic tourism. There aretwo categories under the Incredible India TouristFacilitator (IITF) Certification Program:

(1) Incredible India Tourist FacilitatorProgram (Basic)

(2) Incredible India Tourist Guide (IITG)Heritage & Adventure.

The programme is designed in a manner thatthe users can learn at their own time, space, pathand pace. The candidate/person below the ageof 40 years should have completed 10+2 orequivalent examination whereas thecandidates/persons of 40 years of age and aboveshould have completed 10 or equivalentexamination conducted by any recognisedBoard by Government of India/StateGovernment on or before the date of registrationto the course.

The Registration/Course fee for IITFcertification programme is Rs. 2000/- (Rupeestwo thousand) only. However, the SC and STcandidates, the candidates who are domicileresidence of the Union Territory of Ladakh,Jammu & Kashmir and of AspirationalDistricts as identified by NITI AAYOG (asamended from time to time**) are exemptedfrom registration fee.

The programme will benefit the Indian economyin general and Indian tourism in specific. Itwould enable creation of a pool of well trainedand professional Tour facilitators. Thus, it wouldhelp in creating additional employment even inremote areas. It will help the tourists, as theywould be able to get the support of touristfacilitators, who would be locals, at a reasonableprice. The program is a digital initiative enablingIndian citizens to develop and enhance skillsassociated with Tourism thereby incorporatingknowledge about facilitating tourists across thecountry.

6.8 Approval of Travel Trade ServiceProvider

This Ministry presently approves the followingcategories of Travel Trade Service Providers:

i. Inbound Tour Operatorsii. Travel Agentsiii. Domestic Tour Operators



iv. Adventure Tour Operatorsv. Tourist Transporters Operators

Revised guidelines of this scheme were issuedon 18th July, 2011. The aims and objectives ofthis scheme are to encourage quality, standardand service in these categories. This is avoluntary scheme open to all bonafide agencies.Since January 2020, a total of 65 approvals wereissued to the service providers of Travel Trade,as given below:

Category Approval TotalIssued approval

during 1st as onJanuary date i.e. 31st

2020 to 31st DecemberDecember 2020

2020

Inbound Tour 24 481Operators (ITO)

Travel Agents 15 191(TA)

Tourist 04 108TransportOperators (TTO)

Domestic Tour 19 136Operators (DTO)

Adventure Tour 03 50Operators (ATO)

Total 65 966

In all, the Ministry of Tourism has givenrecognition to 966 Stakeholders. Out of this,there are 481 ITOs, 191 TAs, 136 DTOs, 108TTOs and 50 ATOs.

Keeping in mind that over a period oftime, there have been widespread, globaldevelopments and advancements which havehad a strong bearing on the Tourism sector andrecognizing the need to continuously examinethe sector vis-à-vis the changing traveller andindustry landscape, the Ministry recognized theneed to review and the guidelines for givingrecognition to tourism service providers.Further, the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

pandemic had triggered an unprecedentedcrisis in the tourism sector. All these factorsnecessitated that the guidelines for givingrecognition to tourism service providers areamended suitably. The Guidelines haveaccordingly been revised in December 2020 soas to enhance their reach and scope. The revisedGuidelines would be effective from January2021.

� The existing guidelines have beenconsolidated into one single Guidelinefor ‘Recognition of Tourism ServiceProviders by the Ministry of Tourism’

� Recognition, under the revisedguidelines, will be granted under threebroad sub-categories

� Tour Operators (Inbound,Domestic, Adventure, MICE)

� Travel Agents

� Tourist Transport Operators

� These three sub-categories will includeOperators / Agencies making requiredarrangements for tourists throughonline mode also.

� A Category of Greenshoot / Start-upAgencies has been introduced for thefirst time, to encourage the principles ofAatmanirbhar.

6.9 Web-based Public Delivery System

For the recognition of the Travel Trade ServiceProviders, Ministry of Tourism has set up aWeb-based Public Delivery System w.e.f. 12thMay 2014. The objective of the system is to easethe process of filing applications by the TravelTrade Service Providers seeking recognitionfrom this Ministry and to bring in transparencyin granting the approvals. The new procedureaccepts applications online from serviceproviders thereby make the process paperless.

All the applications are submitted on linethrough the URL http://etraveltradeapproval.nic.in/ and examined, processedand approved / rejected within 60 days from



the receipt of completed applications. Thisinitiative is part of Ministry’s objective to movetowards E-regime for approvals etc.

6.10 E- Visa

The Ministry of Tourism has been working veryclosely with Ministry of Home Affairs andMinistry of External Affairs for easing of theVisa Regime in the country. The Ministrysupported the initiative regarding theimplementation of Tourist Visa on Arrivalenabled with Electronic Travel Authorization(ETA) (renamed as e - Visa) and committed allsupport to Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministryof External Affairs and Ministry of Civil Aviationfor implementing this Programme. TheGovernment of India launched the e - Visa on27.11.2014 and subsequently e-Tourist Visa wasinitially introduced for 46 countries.

The Government of India has further liberalizedthe e-Tourist Visa Scheme pursuant to theCabinet approval on 30.11.2016 and the e-Tourist Visa (eTV) scheme was renamed to e-Visa scheme and at present there are followingfive sub-categories of e-visa:

i) e-Tourist Visa,

ii) e-Business Visa,

iii) e-Medical Visa,

iv) e-Conference Visa and

v) e-Medical Attendant Visa.

At present, the E-VISA scheme is available tothe nationals of 171countries, the latest beingTOGO which has been added in February 2020.

e-Visa is valid for entry through 28 designatedAirports (i.e. Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra,Bengaluru, Calicut, Chennai, Chandigarh,Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa,Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata,Lucknow, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune,Tiruchirapalli, Trivandrum, Varanasi,Vishakhapatnam, Madurai, Bhubaneswar andPort Blair) and 5 designated seaports (i.e.Mumbai, Cochin, Mormugao, Chennai andNew Mangalore).

Recently, government has made a series ofamendments in e-visa regime, liberalizing itfurther and making it more tourists’ friendly.Important modifications made have beenhighlighted as under:

i. A new category of e-Tourist Visa for 5years with multiple entry has beenintroduced in addition to the existing e-Tourist Visa for one year.

ii. The duration of stay for e-tourist visa is90 days in case of nationals of allcountries who are eligible for grant of e-visa except nationals of USA, UK,Canada and Japan. For nationals ofUSA, UK, Canada and Japancontinuous stay during each visit shallnot exceed 180 days. In the case of e-Medical Visa and for e-MedicalAttendant Visa, triple entry is permitted,and extension may be granted up to 6months on case to case basis on meritsof each case by the Foreigners RegionalRegistration Officer (FRRO)/ ForeignersRegistration Officer (FRO) concerned.Medical Attendant Visa will be co-terminus with the validity of theprincipal e visa holder.

iii. Further, a new category of e-Tourist visawhich is valid for one month- doubleentry has also been introduced.

iv In addition to this, the visa fee has alsobeen rationalized and has been fairlyreduced which is as under: -

� For 5 year e-Tourist visa - $80

� For 1 year e-Tourist Visa - $40.

� For one-month e-Tourist visa –

� Lean tourist season (April to June)-$ 10

� Tourist season (July to March) -$25.

v e-Conference Visa in line with e-conference visa for Government/P.S.U.



Conferences, would be granted forprivate conferences organized by privatepersons/companies/organizations.

vi Government has now exempted thecruise tourists arriving with e-visa fromthe requirement of bio-metricenrollment. However, the foreigner cantake exit from any of the authorizedImmigration Check Posts (ICPs) inIndia.

vii Bank charges have been changed fromUSD 2 to 2.5% of the e-TV fee. There isno bank charge for zero visa fees.

viii Restriction of one application per emailID per month has been removed.

6.11 Market Development Assistance(MDA) Scheme for promotion ofDomestic tourism

The global outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 hasbeen an unprecedented global healthemergency with tremendous impact onsocieties and livelihoods. Travel and Tourism hasbeen among the sectors most affected by thiscrisis with complete curtailment of all travel –domestic and international. When the situationeases, domestic travel and tourism is likely tospearhead revival of the Tourism sector in thecountry. The focus of the Ministry at present, istherefore on reviving and revitalizing thedomestic tourism sector.

In view of the above situation, the Guidelinesfor the Scheme of Market DevelopmentAssistance (MDA) for promotion of DomesticTourism have been modified to enhance thescope and reach of the Scheme, so as to providemaximum benefits to the stakeholders.

The objectives of the Scheme are:

� To motivate stakeholders to promotetourism destinations in the country,including lesser known and unexploiteddestinations as part of their marketingprogrammes for the domestic market.

� To familiarize stakeholders with tourismdestinations and products across thecountry to enable them to promote andpackage them effectively amongstdomestic consumers.

� To familiarise stakeholders with newdestinations, products anddevelopments in the field of tourism inthe country.

� To encourage stakeholders to maketourism industry as a vital socio-economic activity of the country.

As per the modified guidelines of MDA dated28.11.2020, Financial support will beextended to the tourism service providers forundertaking the following promotionalactivities within the country i.e. Participationin domestic travel fairs / exhibitions; Participation in Tourism related Conferences /Conventions / Seminars organized by NationalTourism, Trade and Hospitality Associationsand by the Central and State GovernmentTourism Ministries; Participation in Road Showsin different regions of the country and forOnline Promotion of tourism destinations andproducts, tour packages in the domestic market,including production of digital promotional

Gate Way of India



brochures / leaflets.

Apart from this, Financial support will beextended to Tourism Departments of StateGovernments / UT Administrations forundertaking the promotional activities withinthe country i.e. Participation in domestic travelfairs / exhibitions; Online Promotion of tourismdestinations and products, tour packages in thedomestic market, including production ofdigital promotional brochures / leaflets andfor Travel undertaken by officers and Staffof State govt./UT administration for Tourismproduct familiarisation.

6.12 Multilingual Tourist Infoline

The Ministry of Tourism has launched the 24x7Toll Free Multi-Lingual Tourist Help Line in 12Languages including Hindi & English on08.02.2016. The languages handled by theTourist Helpline include ten Internationallanguages besides English and Hindi, namely,Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese,Korean, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian andSpanish. This service is available on the toll-freenumber 1-800-11-1363 or on a short code 1363and operational 24X 7 (all days) in a yearoffering a “multi-lingual helpdesk” in thedesignated languages.

The objective of this multi-lingual helpline is toprovide the support service in terms ofproviding information relating to travel andtourism in India to the domestic andinternational tourists in the designatedlanguages and to advise the callers with adviceof action to be taken during the times of distresswhile travelling in India and if need be alert theconcerned authorities.

This is a unique endeavor by Ministry ofTourism, Government of India and gives theforeign tourists a sense of safety and securitywhile travelling in India. The total no. of /queriesreceived and handled in the Multilingual Infolinesince February 2016 till Nov 2020 is 599028.

6.13 Protected Area Permit(PAP)/

Restricted Area Permit(RAP)

For a better and smooth travel experience ofTourists in the restricted/Protected area of thecountry, Ministry of Tourism regularlycoordinates with Ministry of Home Affairs andas a result Ministry of Home Affairs has relaxedthe PAP/RAP for a further period of 5 Years i.e.till 31.12.2022 in the states of Manipur,Mizoram and Nagaland and Union Territoryof Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

6.14 Regional Connectivity Scheme(RCS)

The RCS- UDAN is scheme initiated by Ministryof Civil Aviation in order to facilitate / stimulateregional air connectivity by making itaffordable.

Under RCS UDAN-3 Tourism, Ministry ofTourism approached Ministry of Civil Aviation,with the purpose of further improvingconnectivity and got 46 tourism routes includedfor better connectivity of important touristsplaces including Iconic sites. Out of thesetourism routes, currently 21 routes have alreadybeen operationalized.

Further to this, Ministry of Tourism has beensupporting and giving its recommendations forinclusion of tourism routes and improving theair connectivity in the North Eastern region. TheMinistry of Civil Aviation has recently finalised78 Routes under RCD UDAN–4 which largelyaim at increasing air connectivity to and withinthe North Eastern Region.

6.15 Tourist Facilitation and InformationCounter

The Tourist Facilitation and InformationCounter was opened on 5th November 2018 atT3 Terminal arrival gate of Indira GandhiInternational Airport, New Delhi. Subsequently,the Tourism Ministry has also started TourismFacilitation Counters at the airports of Varanasi,Bodhgaya, Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai,Chennai, Guwahati and Hyderabad i.e. a total



of 9 tourist facilitation counters havebeen opened at 9 different airports ofIndia by Ministry of Tourism.

Opening the facilitation Centre forvisitors, shall be of great help to thetourists visiting the country. The countershall cater to non-English speakingtourists also as the Counter will also beconnected to the 24x7 Helpline – ‘1363’of the Tourism Ministry where thetourists can speak directly with theforeign language agents and getguidance in French, German, Italian, French,Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Chineseand Arabic.

6.16 Improvement of Road connectivityand Way Side amenities to theimportant Tourist Destinationswith the help of Ministry of RoadTransport & Highways (MoRTH).

Ministry of Tourism (MoT) has been pursuingthe matter regarding improvement of roadconnectivity to important tourist destinationswith the Ministry of Road Transport &Highways (MoRTH) and had submitted a list of50 Tourism Destinations to MoRTH for takingup in the first phase. MoRTH has been requestedto consider setting up of Wayside Amenities,prominent signages and beautification of thearea, at a distance of 15-20 km where good roadconnectivity already exists. Out of these 50destinations, only 23 fall under the purview ofMoRTH / NHAI, where work is in progress. Therest comes under the purview of PWD , BROand the respective State Govts. The Ministry hasaccordingly addressed letters to the StateGovernments, PWD and BRO for improvementof road connectivity and provision of waysidefacilities. Ministry of Tourism is further in theprocess of finalizing a further list of 50 TouristDestinations to be sent to MoRTH to take up inthe second phase. For this, Ministry iscoordinating with States/UTs for their inputs.Meetings for the same have been held over twodays i.e. 24th and 25th November, 2020.

A letter has also been addressed by the Ministryto the Director General, Border RoadsOrganisation, regarding Wayside Facilitiesalready existing and / or planned to bedeveloped on important tourism routes inLadakh. It has been proposed to hold a virtualmeeting with concerned officials in BRO todiscuss the above.

6.17 Adopt a Heritage

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of Indiahas launched the “Adopt a Heritage: ApniDharohar, Apni Pehchaan” project which is acollaborative effort by the Ministry of Tourism,Ministry of Culture, Archaeological Survey ofIndia and State/ UTs Government fordeveloping tourism amenities at heritage/natural/ tourist sites spread across India formaking them tourist friendly, in a planned andphased manner. The project aims to encouragecompanies from public sector, private sector,corporate citizens, NGOs, individuals and otherstakeholders to become “Monument Mitras”and take up the responsibility of developing andupgrading the basic and advanced touristamenities at these sites. They would also lookafter the Operation & Maintenance of the same.

Under the project, 27 Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoUs) have been awarded to12 Monument Mitras for twenty-five (25) sitesand two (2) Technological interventions acrossIndia.




CHAPTER-7

Human Resource Development


CHAPTER

7 Human Resource Development

7.1 Institutes of Hotel Management(IHMs) & Food Craft Institutes (FCIs)

It has been the endeavour of the Ministry ofTourism to put in place a system of training andprofessional education, with necessaryinfrastructure support, capable of generatingmanpower sufficient to meet the needs of thetourism and hospitality industry, bothquantitatively and qualitatively. As of now, thereare 47 Institutes of Hotel Management (IHMs),(comprising 21 Central IHMs and 26 StateIHMs) and 14 Food Craft Institutes (FCIs),which have come up with the support of theMinistry. One (1) Central IHM at Jadgishpur,Uttar Pradesh is under construction. Theseinstitutes were set up as autonomous societieswith the specific mandate to impart hospitalityeducation / conduct training in hospitality skills.While the IHMs mainly impart degree levelhospitality education, the FCIs offers skill leveleducation.

7.2 National Council for HotelManagement & CateringTechnology (NCHMCT, MOT)

For steering and regulating the academic effortsof the IHMs and FCIs, in 1982 the Ministry hadset up the National Council for HotelManagement & Catering Technology(NCHMCT). The mandate of the NCHMCT isto co-ordinate the growth and generaladvancement in the development of hospitalitymanagement education through its affiliatedInstitutes. The Council’s jurisdiction extends overa wide range of administrative mattersincluding admission, fees, bye-laws, syllabus for

studies, courses, research and examinations,results, regulating building plans andequipment, training, publishing periodicals,magazines, etc., as also carrying out of suchgovernment approved activities as prescribedfrom time to time. The NCHMCT is also theaffiliating body and the 21 CIHMs, 26 SIHMsand 14 FCIs that have come up with the supportof Ministry are also affiliated to it for admissionsand regulations of examination. The NCHMCThas also been given the mandate to affiliateprivate IHMs. As on date, 26 private institutesare affiliated to the NCHMCT. The NCHMCTalso conducts Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)on all India basis for admission to the 1st yearof the 3-year B.Sc. programme in Hospitalityand Hotel Administration for its affiliatedinstitutes. Admission to M.Sc. in HospitalityAdministration is centrally carried out by theCouncil. In the case of other course, i.e. P.G.Diploma in Accommodation Operation, P.G.Diploma in Dietetics and Hospital Food Service,Diploma in Food Production; Diploma in Foodand Beverage Service; Diploma in HouseKeeping Operation, Diploma in Bakery andConfectionery, Craftsmanship Course in Foodand Beverage Service and Certificate Course inHotel and Catering Management, admissionsare directly carried out by the respectiveInstitutes as per eligibility criteria prescribedby the Council for the respective courses.

In addition to various short term capacitybuilding programs, during the year 2019-2020,total 12,556 students enrolled themselves undervarious regular academic programs offered byNCHMCT.



A proposal for upgradation of National Councilof Hotel Management and CateringTechnology (NCHMCT) to a statutory body forawarding degree, diploma certificates to benamed as National Institute of HospitalityManagement (NIHM) has been initiated.

7.3 Indian Institute of Tourism & TravelManagement (IITTM), MOT

Indian Institute of Tourism and TravelManagement (IITTM), set up in 1983, is apioneer in the field of travel and tourismeducation and training. It provides specializedtraining and education for tourism and travelindustry. It currently offers the followingprogrammes.

Two-year full time MBA (Tourism and TravelManagement) & Three-year full time BBA(Tourism and Travel) programme from itsGwalior, Bhubaneswar, NOIDA, Nellore andGoa centres. These centres also offer Short-termSkill Development Programmes/courses. Inaddition to various short term capacity buildingprograms, during the year 2019-2020, total 628students enrolled themselves under various

regular academic programs offered by IITTM.

7.4 National Institute of Water Sports(NIWS), Goa

NIWS, Goa was incorporated in the IITTM inthe year 1995. The setting up the NationalInstitute of Water Sport, Goa is being taken upto strengthen the ongoing activities ofeducation/ training, research and consultancy,and leisure water sports promotion in India.Currently, NIWS is offering consultingactivities, professional short term trainingprogrammes like OBM Maintenance, FRP BoatRepair, Tiller Controlled Powerboat Handling,Remote control Powerboat Handling, LifeSaving Techniques, Surf Life Saving techniques,etc. It also conducts some skill based courseslike windsurfing, sailing, water skiing,kayaking, etc. New campus with state of artfacilities is currently under construction.

7.5 MOT’s Scheme of Assistance toIHMs/FCIs/IITTMS/NCHMCT etc.

The Ministry of Tourism has an enabling planscheme “Assistance to IHMs/FCIs etc.” under



which Central financial assistance can besanctioned to a State/Union TerritoryGovernment up to a ceiling of Rs.16.50 Croresfor establishment of an Institute of HotelManagement (IHM), Rs.7.50 Crores for a FoodCraft Institute (FCI), Rs.2.40 Crores for broad-basing of hospitality education throughgovernment sponsored ITI, Polytechnics,Colleges, PSUs and Rs.30.00 lakhs for Schoolssubject to availability of funds, adherence to theterms and conditions of the scheme guidelinesand their inter-se priority. However, quantumof assistance for the setting up of an IHMcreated by the Central Government, or thesetting up of a centre/branch of the IndianInstitute of Tourism and Travel Management(IITTM) or National Council for HotelManagement & Catering Technology(NCHMCT) or Indian Culinary Institute (ICI),shall not be subject to this ceiling.

The Central Financial Assistance (CFA)extended for setting up of new IHMs / FCIs issubject to provisions of guidelines of the schemeand affiliation of the Institute to the NCHMCT.The normal grant is up to Rs.12.50 Crore, ofwhich, Rs. 10.00 Crore is for construction andthe balance for the purchase of equipmentrequired by the Institute. An additional Rs. 4.00Crore can also be granted for construction ofhostels. The expenditure over and above theCentral Grant is met by the respective StateGovernments. For a Food Craft Institute, theCentral assistance is limited to Rs.7.50 Crore.Financial assistance is also extended forupgradation of institutional infrastructure suchas construction of hostels and modernizationof laboratories.

The Central Financial Assistance was meant forpurchase of lab equipment, furniture,computers, and for the modernization andinfrastructural upgradation of the Institutes. Abudget provision of Rs.61.00 Crore has beenmade at RE for FY’2019-2020 out of whichRs.56.81 Crore has been utilized as on31.03.2020.

7.6 Broad-basing of the HospitalityEducation

The Ministry has also decided to bringhospitality education into the mainstreamthrough Government vocational schools,Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), polytechnicinstitutes, Government colleges, Universitiesand Public Sector Undertakings. The Centralassistance will be available to all. The assistancecan be utilized for creation of infrastructurenecessary for the conduct of courses / trainings.

7.7 Indian Culinary Institute, Tirupati

The Ministry of Tourism has set up an IndianCulinary Institute (ICI) at Tirupati, at a totalcost of Rs.97.92 Crore with the objective (i)toensure the preservation of heritage Indiancuisine, (ii) to establish research, documentation,museum and resource centre of Culinary Arts& (iii) to impart specialized training in culinaryskills. The Indian Culinary Institute will serveas a resource centre in its subject domain,conforming to international benchmarks. AChapter of ICI Tirupati has been set up atNOIDA.

The ICI has commenced 3 years BBA CulinaryArts from 2018-19 with an intake of 60 studentseach for ICI, Tirupati and Noida. MBA coursesare also being started from 2019-20 academicyears at Tirupati and Noida Campuses withinitial 30 intakes. In addition to various shortterm capacity building programs, during theyear 2019-2020, total 77 students enrolledthemselves under various regular academicprograms offered by ICI.

7.8 Capacity Building for ServiceProviders

7.8.1 The Scheme of “Capacity Building forService Providers” (CBSP) of theMinistry of Tourism aims to provideeducation, training and certification tothe tourism service providers at everylevel with its main objectives being totrain and up-grade manpower at every



strata of service in order to i) capitalizeon the vast tourism potential of thecountry to the fullest, and ii) provideprofessional expertise to the localpopulace as well as create freshopportunities for employmentgeneration in the tourism sector both inurban as well as rural areas. Thesetrained service providers could beengaged in providing service directly tothe tourist or involved in the importanttask of teaching, administering orplanning.

7.8.2 The Scheme is implemented by theMinistry of Tourism through Institutesof Hotel Management and Food CraftInstitutes including such institutesapproved by the All India Council forTechnical Education (AICTE), IndianInstitute of Tourism & TravelManagement (IITTM), NCHMCT, IndiaTourism Development Corporation(ITDC), State/UT/Central Training/academic Institutions and thespecialized academic Training Institutes

in the private sector engaged in givingtraining in the hospitality sector.

7.8.3 The following programmes areconducted under the CBSP Scheme

A. Hunar Se Rozgar Tak:- Theprogramme presently offers a total ofeleven short duration courses of 160hours to 700 hours. Out of these elevencourses eight viz. Multi Cuisine Cook,Food & Beverage Service, RoomAttendant, Front Office, LaundryMachine Operator, Kitchen Steward,Home Delivery Boy and TraditionalSnack & Savory Maker are hospitalityrelated and the other three courses vizUnarmed Security Guards, HeritageGuide and Tour Guide are no-hospitalitycourses and are fully funded by theMinistry of Tourism. The totalachievement is 10922 persons trained /certified and about 2900 trainees undertraining at the end of the FY 2019-20.

B. Skill Testing & Certification of theexisting service providers to test and



certify existing service providers in fourhospitality trades namely foodproduction, food and beverage service,bakery and housekeeping. 8149 personshad been certified during the FY 2019-20.

C. Entrepreneurship Programme:- Five150 hours courses are offered in thetrades of (i) Cook – Tandoor , (ii)Barman, (iii) Baker, (iv) Homestay(Multi-Skilled Caretaker) and (v) Halwai– Indian Sweets under this Programme.A total of 2117 persons had been trained/ certified at the end of FY 2019-20.

D. Tourism Adventure Courses: - TheMinistry of Tourism has introducedTourism Adventure courses under thescheme of ‘Capacity Building for Serviceproviders’ in the FY 2018-19. Theprogramme is being conducted byIITTM through IISM, Gulmarg. Threecourses i.e. Parasailing, Trekking andHot Air Ballooning are covered underthis initiative and a total of 115 traineestrained and certified during the FY2019-20.

This Ministry has also assigned target forconducting 15-day duration trainingprogramme for ‘Adventure Travel Escort’through Indian Maintaining Foundation (IMF)to promote regional based specially structuredadventure skill development courses. The targetgroup of this programme would be 10th passcandidate who should be able to read, write andcommunicate well in English or Hindi.

E. Linguistic Tourist Facilitators (LTF):- The Ministry has introduced 6-weeklanguage courses i.e. English, Dutch,German, French, Japanese, Chinese etc.to train Guides/Tourist Facilitators andother service providers under its Suo-Motu-initiatives under the scheme of‘Capacity Building for ServiceProviders’. The basic objective of thisprogramme is to create trained

manpower in different foreignlanguages to facilitate tourists visitingIndia from different countries and toupgrade the skill of the existing serviceproviders in order to deal effectively withforeign tourists in their own languages.The target group is +2 or equivalent inany discipline and the minimum age 20years. IITTM has so far trained 310persons during the FY 2019-20.

F. Mid-Day Meal: - In a joint initiative,the Ministry of Human ResourceDevelopment (MHRD) and Ministry ofTourism have put in place a programmeof 10 days duration for training of cook-cum-helpers engaged in Mid-Day MealProgramme across the country at MoTsponsored IHMs & FCIs. This joint effortis regulated in terms of formallyarticulated guidelines. The motive of theScheme is to train Master Cook and theworkforce managing the Scheme incooking varieties and methods,nutritional aspects of a meal, and of thehygiene that must attend the entireproduction and delivery chain to ensuredelivery with standards that areacceptable. This calls for bringing upresource persons from amongst theexisting service providers, who aretrained to have these abilities and who,in turn, will serve as motivators andmasters for others. In FY 2019-20, 33trainees have been certified in FY 2019-20.

G. Destination based skilldevelopment:- The Ministry of Tourismhas initiated the Destination Based SkillDevelopment training programme at 7Iconic Sites i.e. Taj Mahal at Agra,Humayun Tomb, Red Fort, QutubMinar at Delhi, Mahabodhi Temple atBihar, Colva Beach at Goa andKaziranga at Assam in the currentfinancial year, 2019-20. A total of 1219trainees had trained / certified under



Destinations Based Skill DevelopmentCourses in FY 2019-20.

This programme was up-scaled to 150destinations in the year 2020-21. Theskill development programmes so farincludes Hunar Se Rozgar Tak, SkillTesting & Certification,Entrepreneurship Programme andTourism Awareness Programme. Byconsidering the present situation andremaining period of the CFY, theMinistry had decided to reduce thetarget upto 8010 trainees against thetotal target of 30000 trainees for CFY.

H. OTHER PROGRAMMES: - TourismAwareness/Sensitization programmesfor existing service providers are alsoconducted under this Scheme. Eachcourse is of 2 days to 6 days duration.The primary objective of the programmeis to eventually achieve an improvedservice ambience and experience for thetourist and to further the Swachh BharatAbhiyan.

As a part thereof, the Ministry of Tourism hasstarted Tourism Awareness Programmestargeting Dhabawalas, Taxi/Rickshaw Drivers,Police Staff, Hotel Staff and shopkeepers etc.in and around these iconic sites. 11 CentralIHMs have been entrusted the responsibility ofdelivery of this programme.

A total 5147 people had been certified underthe Tourism Awareness Programme during FY2019-20.

In concern of training programme FY 2020-21 (Till December, 2020)

All the courses / programmes under the schemeof Capacity Building for Service Providers(CBSP) have been suspended due to Covid-19pandemic. The training programme under theCBSP scheme are gradually being commencedby few Institutes as the pandemic situation isgetting normal.

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CHAPTER-8

Publicity and Marketing


CHAPTER

8 Publicity and Marketing

The Ministry of Tourism promotes India in aholistic manner. As part of its marketing /promotional activities, the Ministry of Tourismruns campaigns in the domestic and overseasmarket, organizes and extends support totourism related events, produces brochures,leaflets, maps, films, CDs, etc. on variousthemes and destinations, provides financialassistance to tourism service providers forundertaking promotional activities etc. Thefollowing section gives details of promotionalactivities undertaken in the domestic andoverseas markets and on Social Media duringthe year 2020.

Domestic Market

The Ministry of Tourism organized events suchas Bharat Parv during the financial year 2019-20, with the objective to promote and spreadthe message of Dekho Apna Desh, Ek Bharat -Shreshth Bharat’ and Tourism for All etc. andto create interest amongst general people aboutvarious tourism destinations and products of thecountry.

8.1 Events / Exhibitions

Major Events of the Ministry of Tourism

(A) The Ministry of Tourism successfullyorganized and celebrated Bharat Parvfrom January 26th to 31st, 2020 at GyanPath and grounds in front of Red Fortas part of the Republic DayCelebrations. The Central Theme ofBharat Parv 2020 was ‘150 Years of theMahatma’. The objective of organizingthe Parv was to propagate the idea of

‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’. Elementsrelated to these themes were highlighted.In order to follow the spirit of Ek BharatShreshtha Bharat, stalls of paired States/Union Territories were set up adjacentto each other. Similarly, culturalprogrammes of the paired states wereshowcased, successively. A festiveatmosphere was created during theBharat Parva. Stakeholders from variousState Governments / UnionTe r r i t o r y A d m i n i s t r a t i o n s ,Central Ministries and otherorganizations participated in the BharatParva, 2020 during which theyinteracted with the visitors andinformation on various tourismdestinations and products was alsodisseminated. As per the precedence,Concerts by the Armed Forces Bands(Dynamic and Static), Display ofRepublic Day Tableaux, Exhibitionhighlighting important phases ofMahatma Gandhi’s life, Cultural andfolk performances by troupes fromdifferent regions of the countryincluding Delhi, Multi Cuisine FoodStalls from different States, KitchenStudio, Display and Sale of Handicrafts/ Handlooms Etc. were organized.

(B) Ministry of Tourism celebrated theWorld Tourism Day 2020 (WTD) on27th September 2020 on DigitalPlatform in view of the Pandemic inManthan (Conference Hall) at theHeadquarters, Transport Bhawan,



Ministry of Tourism. Shri DharmendraPradhan, Hon’ble Minister forPetroleum & Natual Gas; Steel wasinvited as Chief Guest. The visitors wereaddressed by the Hon’ble Minister(Tourism). The initiatives launchedduring the virtual event were - (i)SAATHI application, (ii) Dekho ApnaDesh Film, (iii) ‘PATHIK’, a film onIITFC initiative, aimed both atemployment generation and also atcapacity building for Tourism as a sector(iv) ICPB MICE Promotional Film (v)India Tourism Statistics at a Glance2020. About 1000 participants attendedthe event digitally.

8.2 Domestic Promotion - 1st January,2020 to 31st December, 2020

8.2.1 The Ministry of Tourism participated invarious events with an objective topromote Tourism Promotional activitiesundertaken during the respective yeardetails of some major events are asunder;

� Radio Campaign for promoting BharatParv undertaken in January, 2020.

� SMS Campaign for promoting BharatParv undertaken in January, 2020.

� Print Advertisements released in majornewspapers across India for promotingand Publicizing Bharat Parv in January,2020

8.2.2 Promotion of Dekho Apna DeshWebinars: As it is believed thatdomestic Tourism will be the first to takeoff once the situation improves andtravel is resumed, the Ministry oflaunched the ‘Dekho Apna Desh’Webinar series. The objective of thiswebinar series is to create awarenessabout and promote various tourismdestinations of India – including thelesser known destinations and lesserknown facets of popular destinationsand awareness on preventive measuresto be taken during travel etc. Between01-01-2020 & 31.12.2020, totally



number of 68 webinars were organisedincluding various subject such as:-“World Heritage and SustainableTourism at Humayun’s Tomb” ,“New Age Women in Responsible

Tourism” , “NORTHEAST INDIAFOR THE IMMERSIVETRAVELLER “ , “YOGA &

WELLNESS - An Offering forChallenging Times!” etc.

The National e-Governance Division (NeGD)created by the Ministry of Electronics &Information Technology (MeitY) has beenplaying a pivotal role in supporting theMinistry in conducting of the Dekho Apna DeshWebinars by providing technical assistancedirectly with a professional team therebyensuring effective citizen engagement andcommunication with all stakeholders using thedigital experience platform.

8.2.3 Engagement through PressInformation Bureau PIB): All themajor activities and initiativesundertaken by Ministry of Tourism sinceMarch 2020 (Post announcement ofLockdown) have been publicizedthrough Press information Bureauincluding the countering of criticism ofthe Government in various section of themedia. The press notes the Dekho ApnaDesh Webinars are issued after eachwebinar is concluded

8.2.4 Celebrations of International Day ofYoga: The Ministry of Tourism’sorganised a week-long celebrations ofInternational day of Yoga from 15th -21st June, 2020 with a series of activitiesundertaken by its Regional Officesacross the country and launch of socialmedia activities focused on the subjectof Yoga under central theme “Yoga @home & Yoga with family”.

During the Yoga Week celebrations, theIncredibleIndia Social media engagementincluded collaborating with Yoga enthusiastswho practice Yoga with their families. The dailyposts include different Asanas every single daywith their real life applications through picturesor videos. The Ministry is also ran engagementactivities online where people shared their ownpictures and answered to quizzes. The week willalso include a few live sessions from Yogaenthusiasts.

8.3 International- Publicity-Marketing

The Ministry of Tourism, through its IndiaTourism Offices Overseas endeavors to positionIndia as a preferred tourism destination in thetourism generating markets to promote varioustourism products and destinations and toincrease India’s share in the global tourismmarket. The objectives are met through anintegrated marketing and promotional strategyand a synergized campaign in association withthe Travel Trade, State Governments and IndianMissions overseas.

The promotional activities include participationin Travel Fairs and Exhibitions; advertising inthe local print, electronic and outdoor media;organizing Road Shows, India Evenings,Seminars & workshops; organizing andsupporting Indian food and cultural festivals;offering brochure support to tour operators, andjoint advertising/joint promotions with airlines,tour operators and other organizations.

In the current financial year, the Ministry ofTourism, Government of India has approved aseries of promotional activities to aggressivelypromote tourism to India through its 8 overseasoffices.

8.3.1 6th International Day of Yoga:

The Ministry of Tourism’s week-longcelebrations of International day of Yoga beganon 15th June, 2020 with a series of activitiesundertaken by its Regional Offices across the



country and launch of a social media activitiesfocused on the subject of Yoga under centraltheme “Yoga @ home & Yoga with family”.These activities have been planned with themotive to drive a self-conscious state of healthymind and body during the lockdown, theactivities have been made accessible throughthe virtual medium.

8.4 SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTION

8.4.1 The audience engagement throughSocial media: With an objective to haveconversation with travelers and building abond beyond pure marketing of the destinationin both domestic and overseas markets, theMinistry has been actively using its SocialMedia Handles. The Ministry of Tourism, atpresent, has two sets of Social Media handles(i.e. @ incredibleindia with accounts on 8 socialmedia platforms viz Facebook, Twitter,Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Vimeo,Pinterest and Periscope & @ tourismgoi withaccounts on 3 platforms viz Facebook, Twitterand Instagram).

Holistic promotion & publicity of touristdestinations, products, tourism relatedinformation & key initiatives of Governmenthas been promoted through social mediachannels of Ministry of Tourism. Further, theMinistry has effectively used its Social mediahandles to encourage the travelers to downloadthe Arogya Setu App and also for Socialawareness messaging sensitizing social distance,use of mask etc. Also, Ministry has aggressively,countered the Fake News that were circulatedin social media as a Ministry of Tourism order,regarding closure of hotels and restaurants inIndia till Oct 15, 2020.

Social Media Promotion of weekend getawaysfrom major tourist destination. Further, effortswere made to accentuate other tourism aspectsof India like Wildlife and Adventure. Varioususer generated interactive content (in form ofshort videos & images from different locations)

were posted which received a tremendousresponse from the audience.

During the entire month of June 2020, thetheme ‘Yoga’ was highlighted on all socialmedia handles of the Ministry to coincide withcelebration of ‘International Day of Yoga’ on21st June 2020. In addition, tweets /posts relatingto celebration of International Day of Yoga fromthe social media handles of AYUSH wereretweeted / shared.

On the occasion of Independence Day,campaign on lesser known freedom fighters &their contribution towards our country wereundertaken. Regular posts and live updates onevents & virtual events organized by theMinistry of Tourism were amplified on SocialMedia platforms, including Bharat Parv 2020,World Tourism Day Celebration 2020,Influencer Meet, and NationalConstitution Day.

In line with Hon’ble PM’s vision of promotingIndian toy industry, frequent posts were donefor the same including channapatna toys,Kondapalli toys, etc. (With use of #Vocal4Local#AatmaNirbharBharat #Make In India). Also,the initiatives of Hon’ble PM for the Jan AndolanCampaign against COVID-19 were highlightedin the form of posts, reposts, stories, tweets &retweets.

A special attention was given towards initiativessuch as #RCSUDAN 3 Scheme, #PRASHADScheme, #Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. Also,Posts on promotion of SAATHI application &NIDHI was done to highlight the initiatives ofthe Ministry of Tourism in the hospitalityindustry. All travel safety guidelines issued byMygov, MoCA, MoHFW & AAI were postedregularly

A three-day campaign was done for GandhiJayanti (highlighting the places related to lifeof Mahatma Gandhi) & on National Unity Day(highlighting the places near the Statue ofUnity).



Amplification of virtual inauguration of“Thenzawal Golf Resort” in line with MoT’seffort to promote Golf Tourism & ‘HeritagePhotography Contest’ with #YeMeraIndia topromote the significance of Indian Heritage wasdone.

Due to sustained promotion on social media inthe last three years, led to substantial increasein the follower’s base of the social mediahandles of the Ministry. Present followers baseof some of the popular social media handles ofthe Ministry are given below:

@ incredibleindia

Twitter - 2.4 Million followers

Facebook – 2.06 Millions followers

Instagram- 342.8K followers

Youtube – 85.3K Subscribers

@ tourismgoi

Twitter - 213.5K followers

Facebook – 91.5K followers

instagram- 27.1K followers

8.5 Domestic Promotion and Publicityincluding Hospitality (DPPH) Scheme

� Domestic tourism plays an importantrole in the overall development of thetourism sector in India.

� Ministry of Tourism undertakes variouspromotional activities for the promotionof Domestic Tourism and with theobjective of increasing Domestic TouristVisits.

� These activities are primarily aimed atincreasing awareness about tourismdestinations and products, promotingtourism within the country with focuson priority areas like the North Eastand Jammu & Kashmir.

� Spreading Social Awareness messagesand promoting events which have thepotential for attracting tourists.

8.6 Overseas Marketing

The Ministry of Tourism, through its 8 IndiaTourism Offices Overseas endeavours toposition India as a preferred tourism destinationin the tourism generating markets to promotevarious tourism products and destinations andto increase India’s share in the global tourismmarket. The objectives are met through anintegrated marketing and promotional strategyand a synergized campaign in association withthe Travel Trade, State Governments and IndianMissions overseas.

The promotional activities include participationin Travel Fairs and Exhibitions; advertising inthe local print, electronic and outdoor media;organizing Road Shows, India Evenings,Seminars & workshops; organizing andsupporting Indian food and cultural festivals;offering brochure support to tour operators, andjoint advertising/joint promotions with airlines,tour operators and other organizations.

8.6.1 Participation in International TravelFairs and Exhibitions during theperiod 1st January - 31st December,2020

India Tourism Offices overseas participated inthe major international Travel Fairs andExhibitions in important tourist generatingmarkets the world over as well as in emergingand potential markets to showcase and promotethe tourism products of the country. Theseincluded the following :

i. FITUR, Madrid, Spain

ii. Vankantibeurs, Utrecht, TheNetherlands

iii. Destination Show, Manchester, UK

iv. Vankantiesalon, Antwerp, Belgium

v. The Holiday World Travel Show,Dublin, Ireland



vi. Holiday Fair, Brussels, Belgium

vii. EMITT, Istanbul, Turkey

viii. Reislivemessen, Oslo, Norway

ix. CMT, Stuttgart, Germany

x. MATKA, Helsinki, Finland

xi. Bern Expo-Bern, Switzerland

xii. Fascination Asia, Hanover, Germany

xiii. FREE, Munich, Germany

xiv. BIT, Milan, Italy

xv. IMTM, Tel Aviv, Israel

xvi. New York Times Travel Show (NYTTS),New York, USA

xvii. Vitrina Touristica ANATO, Bogota,Colombia

xviii. Travel &Adventure Show, Chicago,USA

xix. Travel & Adventure Show, LosAngeles, USA

xx. Spring RV Show and Sale-Travel &Tourism, Toronto, Canada

xxi. Travel & Adventure Show, Washington

DC, USA

xxii. WTM (Virtual), London, UK

xxiii. ATM (Virtual), Dubai, UAE

xxiv. Holiday World, Prague, Czech Republic

xxv. UTAJAS Fair, Budapest, Hungary

xxvi. ASEAN Tourism Forum & TRAVEX,Brunei

xxvii. TITF, Bangkok, Thailand

xxviii. PTAA Expo, Manila, Philippines

xxix. AIME, Melbourne, Australia

xxx. ASTINDO, Jakarta, Indonesia

xxxi. PATA Travel Mart (Virtual)

xxxii. ITB Asia (Virtual), Singapore

xxxiii. JATA Online Travel Mart, Japan, etc.

8.6.2 Road Shows:

As part of the promotional initiativesundertaken, Road Shows are organised inimportant tourist generating markets overseaswith participation of the different segments ofthe travel industry. The road shows comprisepresentations and one–to–one business



meetings between the trade delegation fromIndia and the travel trade in the respectivecountries. However, due to Corona virus(COVID 19) Pandemic, MOT could not conductany Road show during this period.

8.6.3 Know India Seminars:

During the period 1st January to 31stDecember 2020, the Ministry of Tourismthrough its India Tourism Offices overseas hasalso organized Know India Seminars inHouston, Dallas and Los Angeles (USA);Toronto and Ottawa (Canada); Bogota(Colombia); Sao Paulo (Brazil); Adelaide(Australia); Luxembourg; and JATA/ JOTCDestination Webinar series in Japan.

Incredible India Dekho Apna Desh: As a partof the promotion by targeting NRI’s, IndiaTourism New York organized Dekho ApnaDesh, an event in Atlanta with the support ofConsulate General of India, Atlanta, Georgia on12th January, 2020 at Consulate Premises.

8.6.4 Food Festivals:

For promotion of Indian Cuisine, which is anintegral component of the Indian Tourismproduct, MOT extended support to Indian FoodFestivals for sponsoring the visit of Indian chefs.During the period 1st January to 31stDecember 2020, Ministry of Tourism sponsoredchefs for the Food Festivals in BruneiDarussalam from 14th -16th February, 2020.

8.6.5 Outdoor Publicity:

For greater visibility of “Incredible India”,Ministry of Tourism through its India TourismOffices overseas carried out outdoor brandingin 100 buses in Melbourne, Sydney andCanberra (Australia); and outdoor branding onbuses in Kunming, Chongqing and Chengdu(China). Outdoor advertising was also carriedout at Suvarnabhumi Airport(Bangkok); billboard branding at IncheonInternational Airport (South Korea) and attwo outdoor media sites in Singapore.

8.6.6 Hospitality Scheme:

The main objective of the scheme is to effectivelyproject India as an attractive multi-dimensionaltourist destination offering a vast range ofattractions. The invited guests get first-handinformation / knowledge of the Indian tourismproduct and facilities during theirfamiliarization tours under the hospitalityprogramme of the Ministry of Tourism.Hospitality is normally extended to overseasTravel Writers, Journalists, Photographers, Film/ TV Teams, Travel agents and Tour Operators,Agencies promoting Incentive / ConventionTravel, Opinion Makers / Dignitaries /Celebrities / Speakers and Door Prize / ContestWinners. During the period January-December2020, guests were invited to cover importantevents in India, including 5th Statehood DayInternational Women’s Polo Tournament heldin Manipur, SATTE (Delhi), Outbound TravelMart (Mumbai) etc.

8.6.7 Marketing Development Assistance(MDA):

Under the Marketing Development AssistanceScheme, financial assistance is provided toapproved tourism service providers forundertaking tourism promotionalactivities including Sales-cum-study tours andParticipation in Fairs/Exhibitions and RoadShows in the overseas markets. TourismDepartments of all States and Union Territories(UTs) are also eligible for financial assistanceunder the MDA Scheme for participation inFairs / Exhibitions and Road Shows heldoverseas.

8.7 Incredible India Website

Incredible India digital platform aims toenhance the digital outreach of the variedtourism offerings across the country throughthe Incredible India website, transforming it intoa one-stop digital information and serviceplatform that serves all hospitality, travel &tourism related needs of a tourist. The website



boasts a clean design and intuitive andconsistent site-wide navigation system, withimproved menu functionality that directstourists to the information, most relevant tothem. It is also fully responsive with mobiledevices, making it easy to navigate on a widerange of web browsers and portable devices.

Incredible India website envisages providing themodern-day tourists with a variety of servicesand a plethora of information for addressingsignificant requirements during their digitaljourney. In view of the same, a variety ofinformation and services are being integratedwith the Incredible India platform incollaboration with various agencies andministries.

In order to make the content more engagingand informative, the following information/services are now being provisioned on theIncredible India website, in collaboration withrelevant agencies:

� Popular trips across India (48-houritineraries, pan-India itineraries androad trips)

� Information around weather andseasons (integration with IMD)

� Information around public facilities(integration with SBM public toilets)

� Information around Banks and ATMs(integration with SBI)

� Hotel information from ITDC

� Audio guides from Audio Odigos

� Variety of information such as luxurytrains, tour packages, among other suchinformation from IRCTC

Besides the above-mentioned information,integration is also underway for onlinemonument booking services (with ASI), hoteland flight booking services (with IRCTC), hoteldatabase integration with NIDHI portal, andTour Operator’s database integration.

To provide reliable and updated information totourists regarding States/UTs, Incredible Indiaplatform is also collaborating with respectiveStates/UTs to gather enhanced information thatis being provisioned on dedicated pages for eachState and Union Territory within the website.This includes a variety of state-specific

Incredible India Website



information including itineraries, interestingfacts, engaging media, experiences, events,blogs, among other such information.

MoT introduced a range of new content to thewebsite, including Google 360 walkthroughs andstories, that features virtual content to providetourists with a walk through of our touristattractions. In addition, the Incredible Indiawebsite provides more personalised contentacross the globe, based on tourist interest andcontent designed to help the tourist make theright decisions about their visit to India, throughmore robust and regulated electronic contentmanagement solutions (ECM) and withadvance analytics capability of capturing thetourist engagement on Incredible India website.

Also, the website has been assisted with AdobeSolution suite to effectively engage with visitorsacross web and social media platform. The realtime analytics features help to understand thetourist visitors’ demographics and helps inprofiling the visitors better.

The website is also translated in Arabic, Chinese,French, Russian, Spanish, German, Japaneseand Korean languages.

Since launch (i.e. June 14, 2018), we have had11 M visitors on the Incredible India website,engaging in the immersive experience of India’sspectacular heritage, festivity, spirituality,museums and adventure. Top five countries’traffic information is as follows: India (16.7%),Russia (12.0%), US (10.8%), UK (7.3%), andGermany (6.1%).

8.8 Buddhist Website

Buddhist tourism in India, as a tourism product,has tremendous potential to draw the 500million strong Buddhist across the world to “TheLand of Buddha”. India has a rich ancientBuddhist Heritage with several important sitesassociated with the life of Lord Buddha. TheIndian Buddhist Heritage is of great interest tothe followers of Buddhism the world over.Buddhism has remained a vital force, an

inspiration and above all, a guidance to ourtraditions and customs. In sum, its uniquecontributions in the various fields of culture hasgreatly enriched Indian cultural heritage, apartfrom adding to the religious diversity of the land.

The President also launched the Ministry ofTourism website on important Buddhist sites -indiathelandofbuddha.in on 23rd August 2018during the International Buddhist Conclave(IBC), 2018. This website aims to promote andshowcase the rich Buddhist Heritage in Indiaand highlight the major destinations visited byBuddha personally across the country besidesshowcasing the Buddhist Heritage left behindby his disciples including the modernmonasteries. The website has many usefulfeatures to make it more interactive and toprovide a deeper engagement to the travellersvisiting the website. With the help of Adobesolution suite, the Ministry of Tourism will nowbe able to engage effectively with visitors acrossWeb & Social channels and measureengagement, to deliver real time personalizedexperiences for each visitor, based on theirinterest and travel persona.

The aim of this website is to showcase andproject the Buddhist Heritage in India andboost tourism to the Buddhist sites in thecountry and cultivate friendly ties withcountries and communities interested inBuddhism. Our goal with this website is toprovide our visitors an easier way to learn aboutBuddhist Heritage and to allow the tourist tobrowse information based on their own choice.The new website is interactive and gives betteraccess to About Buddhism, Footsteps ofBuddha, Buddhist Heritage, Monasteries andmany more.

Since launch (i.e. Aug 23, 2018), we have had1.43 M visitors on the Buddhist website. Top fivecountries traffic information is as follows:United States (13.2%), Australia (10.1%), UK(9.7%), Singapore (8.5%), and Germany(8.0%).



8.9 Incredible India Mobile App

Ministry of Tourism, on the 27th of September2018, launched the Incredible India mobileapplication, to cater to the mobile friendlygeneration and digital initiatives of thegovernment.

Incredible India App is an innovative project ofMinistry of Tourism to assist the internationaland domestic tourist to showcase India as aholistic destination, revolving around majorexperiences such as spirituality, heritage,adventure, culture, yoga, wellness and more.

‘Incredible India’ mobile application assistsinternational and domestic tourists to accessinformation about destinations, attractions andexperiences that are also featured on theIncredible India website. Along with thisinformation, the mobile app also features mapintegration, emergency contacts’ listing and avariety of other information. The mobile appprovides useful information to tourists aroundmust-visit destinations, popular experiences andevents across the country, State and UT tourisminformation, among others.

The information provided on the mobile app ismultilingual and can be viewed in English,Hindi, Chinese, Arabic and Spanish languages.

The mobile app has been designed keeping inmind the preferences of the modern traveller.The app follows the trends and technologies ofinternational standards and has been equippedwith features to assist the traveller in each phaseof their journey to India.

This mobile application has been developed aspart of the initiative of the new Government intaking important positive decisions, especially,affecting the general public since it is takingover the charge. This will help the tourists inseeking services from Government of Indiarecognized service providers and receive quality& reliable services from them. The appdemonstrates Ministry of Tourism’scommitment use of technology for servicedelivery.

Following is the key information about theusers of the mobile app:

� Average Session Length: 2.55 minutes

� Top 5 countries traffic: India (91.3%), US(2.1%), UK (0.7%), UAE(0.6%),Canada(0.3%),

� Crash Rate: 1.09%

� Total Launches: 47,863

� Total users: 15,902

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CHAPTER-9

International Cooperation


CHAPTER

9 International Cooperation

For development and promotion of tourism, theMinistry of Tourism engages in variousconsultations and negotiations with theinternational organizations such as UnitedNations World Tourism Organization(UNWTO), Economic and Social Commissionfor Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Associationof South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) andSouth Asian Association for RegionalCooperation (SAARC) etc. Consultations andnegotiations with other countries are held forsigning of Agreements / Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) for bilateral/multilateralcooperation in the field of tourism. At present47 valid MoU’s are in place.

Following are the key activities which wereundertaken by the Ministry of Tourism in thearea of International Cooperation during 2020:

I. Joint Working Group /Bilateral&other Meetings

i. Hon’ble Minster of State (IndependentCharge) for Tourism & Culture,Government of India accompanied byJoint Director General, Ministry ofTourism, Government of India andAdditional Private Secretary to HM(T)attended the inaugural ceremony of“Visit Nepal Year 2020” and MinisterialConclave as Guest of Honour held inKathmandu, Nepal from 01st to 03rdJanuary 2020.

ii. A meeting was held between Secretary,Ministry of Tourism, Government ofIndia and the Deputy Minister ofCulture, Information and Tourism of theKyrgyz Republic discussed various waysto promote tourism between twocountries.

iii. A meeting was held between Secretary,Ministry of Tourism, Government ofIndia and Assistant Secretary of Statesfor Education and Cultural Affairs,Government of United States of Americain New Delhi on 30.01.2020.

iv. The Global Tourism Crisis Committeerelated to COVID-19 held its 3rd virtualmeeting on 16th April 2020. Themeeting was headed by the SecretaryGeneral UNWTO and includedparticipation of high-levelrepresentatives of the public and privatesectors and international organizationssuch as World Health Organization,International Civil AviationOrganization, IATA, World Travel andTourism Council, etc. The meeting wasattended by Secretary (Tourism) whohighlighted the efforts made by theGovernment of India /Ministry ofTourism to combat the crisis.

During the meeting, the participants wereinformed about the series of initiativesundertaken by UNWTO and other tourismstakeholders. The issues discussed also includedmeasures taken by the participants globally,important initiatives for the future etc.

v. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, anExtraordinary Tourism Ministers VirtualMeeting of the G20 was held on 24thApril, 2020. Hon’ble Minister forTourism & Culture (IndependentCharge), Ministry of Tourism,Government of India, participated in theafore-mentioned meeting which waschaired by H.E. Minister of Tourism,



Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The purposeof the meeting was to facilitatecollaborative action to protect tourismbusinesses, jobs and support visitorsthrough this unprecedented challenge.Hon’ble Minister for Tourism & Culture(I/C), Ministry of Tourism, Governmentof India, participated in the afore-mentioned meeting and highlighted theinitiatives/measures made by theGovernment of India /Ministry ofTourism to mitigate the risks anddifficulties faced by the tourism industrystakeholders during the crisis.

vi. Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism,Government of India, attended theVirtual Meeting of Tourism Expert Levelof Shanghai Cooperation Organization(SCO) for developing tourism in SCOcountries on 21st May 2020.

vii. A Virtual Meeting of Heads of TourismAdministration of Shanghai CooperationOrganization(SCO) was held on May22nd, 2020. The Ministry of Tourism,Government of India was represented byDirector General and Joint Secretary.

Director General, while expressing her solidarityto all the SCO member countries facing thecommon crisis brought about by COVID-19pandemic, also informed that due to thevisionary and bold leadership of our HonorablePrime Minister of India, the present crisis isbeing effectively managed.

viii. Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism,Government of India attended theUNWTO Crisis Committee virtualmeeting held on 28th May 2020 todiscuss UNWTO Global Guidelines toRestart Tourism

ix. The 32nd UNWTO Commission for EastAsia & the Pacific and UNWTOCommission for South Asia (VirtualMeeting) was held on Tuesday, 30 June2020. Joint Secretary (Tourism) made anintervention on behalf of Ministry ofTourism, Government of India as CAP-

CSA Member on Policy Issues inResponse to COVID-19.

During the meeting he enumerated themeasures taken by Ministry of Tourism torestart the tourism activities, through thecampaign, Dekho Apna Desh, throughphotographs and webinars on undiscovereddestinations and unusual facets of populartourist spots, encouraging Indians to exploretheir country to promote domestic tourism andhelp develop local economies.

x. Joint Secretary (Tourism) attended theSecond G20 Tourism Working GroupMeeting which was held virtually on2nd -3rd July, 2020 to share progress inimplementing the Tourism Ministers’commitments on COVID-19 anddiscussed the two outcome reports onInclusive Community Developmentthrough Tourism (by UNWTO) andSeamless Travel and Improved TravelerExperience (by OECD). Joint Secretary(Tourism) had attended these meetingand made an intervention.

xi. The Joint Secretary, Additional DirectorGeneral and Director (Market ResearchDivision), Ministry of Tourism attendedthe 10th UNWTO (Virtual) Meeting ofthe Committee on Tourism andCompetitiveness (CTC) on 30th July,2020.

xii. The first Virtual Core Group on Tourism(CGT) Meeting of the Indian Ocean RimAssociation (IORA) was held on on 31st

August 2020. The meeting was attendedby JS(T) and Director(NT).

xiii. Joint Secretary (T) attended the 24thASEAN-India Tourism Working GroupMeeting held virtually on 28thSeptember, 2020 wherein the draftASEAN India Tourism CooperationWork Plan 2020-2022 was discussed.

xiv. The 112th UNWTO Executive Councilwas held from 15-17 September 2020 atTbilisi, Georgia. The proceedings wereconducted in hybrid format (in-person



and virtually). This meeting was the firstmajor in-person event involving tourismand the United Nations since theCovid19 became a global pandemic.Ministry of Tourism was represented bythe Ambassador of India to Spain,Embassy of India, Madrid.

xv. India is a member of PBC and representsSouth Asia. Peru and Switzerland areChair and Vice Chair of the PBC. Theonline meeting of UNWTO committeeof Programme and Budget (PBC) washeld on 11th September 2020. Themeeting was attended by JS (T) andADG (MR).

xvi. The inter-ministerial meeting to discussthe bilateral issues between India andTurkey was held on 3rd September 2020under the chairmanship of Secretary(West) MEA. The meeting was attendedby Joint Secretary (T) and Asst. D.G(IC)

xvii. The 9th Session of the India-Oman JointCommission meeting was held on 19thOctober, 2020 under the co-chairmanship of the Hon’ble Ministerfor Commerce & Industry. The meetingwas attended by Joint Secretary(T).

xviii. UNWTO Global Crisis Committeevirtual meeting was held on 19thOctober 2020. The meeting wasattended by Director General (Tourism).Since the start of the pandemic,UNWTO has been working closely withthe World Health Organization (WHO)to guide the tourism sector as it faces upto the COVID-19 challenge.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)set up the Global Tourism Crisis Committee inMarch for launching the global guide fortourism recovery. The Committee organizesregular virtual meetings, reflecting the need forcoordinated and efficient action by the privateand public sectors, governments, internationalfinancing institutions, and the United Nations.UNWTO Members are a critical part of thiscommittee, represented through the regionalchairs and the chair of the Executive Council.

xix. BRICS Tourism Minister’s Meeting washeld within the framework of theRussia’s BRICS Chairmanship on 28thOctober 2020 and was attend byHon’ble Minister for Tourism andCultural, Ministry of Tourism,Government of India.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai, Maharashtra



xx. The Strategy for BRICS EconomicPartnership 2025 (thereinafter – BRICSStrategy) defines a development path ofBRICS and sets the framework forcooperation of its members in accordancewith current economic trends andconditions. The BRICS countries expresstheir aspiration to stimulate strongeconomic growth, confrontmacroeconomic shocks and financialvolatility, support the multilateral tradingsystem based on the rules and principlesof the World Trade Organization (WTO),and resist emerging global uncertaintycaused by a number of factors, includingrise of unilateral and protectionistmeasures that run counter to the spiritand rules of the WTO.

xxi. First meeting of UNWTO Committeefor the Development of the InternationalCode for the Protection of Tourist washeld virtually on 30th October 2020 andwas attended by Joint Secretary,Ministry of Tourism.

xxii. The Virtual 8th Meeting of India-UAEHigh Level Task Force on Investment(HLTFI) was held on 3rd November2020 and was attended by JointSecretary (T). During the meeting JS (T)made a presentation on InvestmentOpportunities in Tourism andHospitality Sector in India.

xxiii. The Virtual Workshop on LeveragingThematic Circuits Towards a BIMSTEC2030 Tourism Strategy was held virtuallyon 25th November, 2020. The objectiveof the meeting was to gather feedbackfrom the BIMSTEC Secretariat and themember states on the results of the study.

During the open Forum and Briefings fromeach country for update on latest status oftourism and COVID situations, AdditionalDirector General (Tourism), as head of theIndian Delegation, made an intervention onbehalf of India and highlighted the measurestaken by the Ministry of Tourism to address thechallenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic.

II. Other Important Activities

i. Secretary (T) and Director, Ministry ofTourism, Government of India attendedFITUR 2020 held at Madrid, Spain from22nd to 26th January 2020. The IndiaPavilion was inaugurated by Secretary(Tourism) along with Ambassador ofIndia to Spain in the presence of themembers of travel trade, media etc. TheIndia pavilion had 23 Co-exhibitorscomprising tour operators, andrepresentatives of Air India, IRCTC andITDC etc.

ii. A meeting was held between JointSecretary, Ministry of Tourism andEconomic Development Minister, Japanon 20.02.2020. Both sides discussedvarious issues regarding developmentand promotion of tourism between Indiaand Japan.

iii. A delegation led by the Deputy AssistantSecretary of State for Travel andTourism delegation from the US metJoint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism,Government of India on 28.02.2020. Thediscussion revolved around 2020 Traveland Tourism Working Group Plan.Digital Tourism, investment in thetourism sector, safety of tourists forsmooth and seamless travel, role of localbodies in USA in promoting tourismwere also discussed.

III. Future proposed activities:

i. The 113th Session of Executive Councilof UNWTO would be held on 18-19thJanuary 2021 in Madrid. The Indiandelegation would be led by Ambassadorof India to Spain, Embassy of India,Madrid.

ii. India has been invited to attend the 24thMeeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministersand Related Meetings to be held on 2-5February 2021 via video conference. The25th ASEAN-India TWG is scheduled on3rd February 2020 and the 8th M-ATM+India is scheduled on 5 February 2020.


��



CHAPTER-10

India Tourism DevelopmentCorporation (ITDC)


CHAPTER

10 India Tourism DevelopmentCorporation (ITDC)

10.1 Introduction

India Tourism Development Corporation(ITDC) is a Public Sector Undertaking underadministrative control of the Ministry ofTourism. Incorporated on October 1, 1966,ITDC played a key role in the development oftourism infrastructure in the country. TheCorporation is running hotels, restaurants atvarious places for tourists, besides providingtransport facilities. In addition, the Corporationis engaged in production, distribution and saleof tourist publicity literature and providingentertainment and duty-free shopping facilitiesto the tourists. The Corporation also has itspresence in engineering related consultancyservices. The Corporation is a preferred andleading “one stop solution provider in theHospitality, Travel and Tourism Sector for alltravel and cargo related needs with reliableaffordable services and having pan- Indiapresence.

ITDC was setup with a view to undertakedevelopment and promotion of tourism relatedactivities. ITDC has been mandated to promotetourism in the country in form of infrastructuredevelopment, hotels & accommodation, travel& tourism promotion, printing & publicity,event management, hospitality education,Sound and Light Shows and other relatedactivities. It went ahead with a view to promotetourism by providing quality infrastructure inplaces where the tourism potential wasuntapped due to non-availability ofaccommodation, travel arrangements, etc. The

Corporation also implements Sound and LightShows and takes up work of execution ofEngineering Projects and preparation of DPRsfor tourism related projects.

ITDC has played a committed and pivotal rolein the development of tourism infrastructure inbackward areas, thereby trying to promoteregional balance.

After the disinvestment of 09 hotels and oneincomplete hotel project in, ITDC consolidatedits remaining activities and restructured itselfto take up diversified service-oriented businessactivities.

ITDC Board appointed M/s Deloitte to adviseITDC to expand its existing business and to tapthe potential business related with Tourism &Hospitality Sector.

10.2 Organisational structure:

10.3 Network of ITDC Services

The present network of ITDC consists of 4Ashok Group of Hotels, 4 Joint Venture Hotelsout of which 1 Hotel unit is in operation, 7Transport Units, 14 Duty Free Shops atSeaports, 1 Sound & Light Show and 4Catering Outlets.

10.4 Subsidiary Companies

Details below indicate ITDC’s investment of Rs.9.29 crore in the paid up capital of foursubsidiary companies as on 15.12.2020:



Subsidiary ITDC’sCompanies Investment

(Rupees in crore)

Utkal Ashok Hotel 1.19 cr in EquityCorporation Ltd. Share3.50 cr in

Preference Shares

Ranchi Ashok Bihar 2.50 crHotel CorporationLtd.

Pondicherry Ashok 0.82 crHotel CorporationLtd.

Punjab Ashok Hotel 1.28 crCompany Ltd.

Total 9.29 cr

10.5 Capital Structure

The details are as under:-

(Rupees in crore)

2017-18 2018-19 2019-20(as per (as per (as perIND AS) IND AS) IND AS

Authorized 150.00 150.00 150.00Capital

Paid up 85.77 85.77 85.77Capital

Reserves 244.98 269.81 260.72& Surplus

Net Worth 330.51 355.35 346.26

10.6 Pattern of Shareholding

ITDC is a listed company both with NSE andBSE. Its total Market Capitalization (on bothBSE and NSE) is Rs 2375.81 cr. as on 15.12.2020.The Authorized and Paid-Up Capital of theCorporation as on date stood at Rs. 150 cr. andRs. 85.77 cr. respectively. The pattern of


Organisational Chart

Chairman & Managing Director

DirectorComm. & Mktg

Ashok Group of Hotels

Ashok Travels & Tour

Ashok International

Ashok Events

Corporating Mktg & PR

Ashok Institute ofHospitality & TourismMgmt

Ashok Consultancy &Engineering Services

Son-Et-Lumiere

Official Language

Information Technology

DirectorFinance

Chief VigilanceOfficer

GM(HR)CompanySecretary

CompanySecretaryDiv

CorporateServices Div

HRMDivision

Legal

VigilanceDivision

DisciplinaryCell

Finance &Accounts

Post of Director Finance is Vacant as on Date


shareholding (as on 11.12.2020) is indicatedbelow:-

Government of India : 87.03%

The Indian Hotels Company Ltd. : 7.87%

Qualified Institutional Buyers : 2.69%

Other Bodies Corporate : 0.08%

General Public, Employees : 2.33%& Other

10.7 Financial Performance

The key figures relating to financialperformance of the Corporation for the last Fiveyears are tabulated below:

10.8 Plan schemes

For the financial year 2020-21 the revisedbudget estimates for capital outlay is Rs 34.39crore which includes renovation of Hotelproperties and catering units for Rs. 29.70 crore.

10.9 Memorandum of Understanding(MoU)

The MoU signing with Ministry of Tourism forthe year 2020-21 has been exempted due todisinvestment process of ITDC properties.

10.10 Disinvestment status of propertiesof ITDC and its Joint VentureSubsidiary Companies

As per Disinvestment Policy of the Governmentof India, 9 hotel properties including 3 JointVenture Hotel properties (viz Hotel Lake ViewAshok, Bhopal; Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok,Guwahati, Hotel Bharatpur Ashok, Bharatpur,incomplete hotel project at Gulmarg, HotelJanpath, New Delhi, Hotel Jaipur Ashok, Jaipur,Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel, Mysore, HotelPataliputra Ashok, Patna and Hotel Donyi Polo

2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20(As per (As per (As per (As perInd AS) Ind AS) Ind) Ind)

Turnover 465.69 356.11 366.42 371.72 357.49*

Profit before Tax 32.42 17.00 21.25 57.91 37.57**

Profit after Tax 22.5 11.43 17.71 42.15 22.48**

Foreign Exchange Earnings 17.95 15.20 15.27 18.65 16.11

*From Continuing Operations only** From Continuing and Discontinued OperationsITDC declared nil dividend for the financial year 2019-20.

Ashok, Itanagar) have been transferred/handedover to the respective State Governments so far.Disinvestment/Divestment process ofremaining properties i.e. Process for joint leasingin respect of Hotel Pondicherry Ashok,Puducherry; process for giving Hotel KalingaAshok, Bhubaneswar on Operation &Maintenance Contract is underway. Hoteloperations of Hotel Ranchi Ashok at Ranchi areclosed. Divestment of 51% equity of ITDC inJVC, Ranchi Ashok Bihar Hotel CorporationLimited is under advanced of transfer to theGovt. of Jharkhkand. Incomplete Project atAnandupr Sahib is under way to be transferredto State Government. Hotel operations of HotelNilachal Ashok, Puri are closed since 2004.Disinvestment process of Hotel Nilachal Ashok,Puri is stayed as the matter is subjudice andpending with the Hon’ble Supreme Court. M/sFeedback Infra appointed as TransactionAdvisor by DIPAM on 14.01.2020 for studyinglease terms & conditions of land, O & M/Sub-leasing of Hotel Ashok and utilization of vacantland in Hotel Ashok-Samrat Complex. M/sFeedback submitted its report to DIPAM. Last



IMG was held by DIPAM on 20th July, 2020 todiscuss the feasibility report.

The lease for the land for Hotel Jammu Ashokwhich was allotted in January 1970 to ITDC fora period of 40 years expired in January 2010.ITDC had been persistently following up forrenewal of lease even prior to the expiry of thelease period. Now the J & K Government videletter dated 20.03.2020 has informed aboutnon-renewal of lease agreement. Accordingly,the operations of Hotel Jammu Ashok have beenclosed on 17.06.2020. Matter is being taken upwith J & K Government for further settlement.

10.11 Ashok Group of Hotels

The flagship hotel of ITDC, hosted severalprestigious functions and conferencesorganized by - Federation of Indian Chambersof Commerce and Industry, The Institute ofCost Accountants of India, National HighwaysAuthority of India, Income Tax AppellateTribunal, ICAI, ITAT Bar Association, TheInstitute of Chartered Accountants of India,Telecom Equipment & Services, Export

Promotion Council, The PrincipalCommissioner of Customs (Preventive), OilIndia Ltd, Ministry of Women & ChildDevelopment (Beti Bachao Beti Padao),National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG),Dinner hosted by Ministry of Tourism, Ministryof Coal, Hindi Parliamentary Meetings ofMMTC, Directorate General NCC, HALLiaison Office, Punjab National Bank,SPMCIL, LIC of India, National Mission ofClean Ganga, Institute of DevelopmentSupport, Hindi Parliamentary Meetings ofHUDCO Limited, National Savings Institute,The Oriental Insurance Co. Limited, Office ofDirector General of Audit (Home Education &Skill Development). And the exhibitions -Indian Wedding Fair by Mystical Concepts andJalsa by Andaz Colors Pvt. Ltd were held in theConvention Hall.

The Incredible India multi-lingual website (inArabic, Chinese and Spanish) was launched atThe Ashok Hotel, New Delhi on 2nd March, 2020by Mr. Prahlad Singh Patel, Hon’ble Ministerof Tourism in the presence of senior officials of



Ministry of Tourism; Ms. Meenakshi Sharma,Director General; Ms. Rupinder Brar, AdditionalDirector General; Mr. Yogendra Tripathi,Secretary; Mr. Rakesh Kumar Verma, JointSecretary and Mr. G. Kamala Vardhana Rao,Chairman & Managing Director, ITDC.

The first Surveillance Audit of the Food safetyManagement System (FSMS) for the continuedISO 22000 certification of the hotel was doneby M/s BSI on 14th August, 2020 and thecertification is valid upto June, 2021. TheLodging License which is valid upto March2023has been granted to the hotel by NDMC.

As part of the modernization and upgradationof the property; old lifts in Tea Lounge area (2no’s) are being replaced and the process toreplace another three lifts in different areas isunderway. The Server space and SQL serverhave been upgraded. A new telephone exchangefrom SIEMENS has been installed by MTNLon rental basis. E-office from NIC has beenimplemented in the hotel.

The hotel provided 2000 packed meals on a dailybasis to the Govt. Hospitals and other Govt.establishments during lockdown (March andApril) due to COVID 19 pandemic as part ofthe Corporate Social Responsibilities.

In June, 2020, ITDC signed MoU with AIIMSfor monitoring preventive measures being takenby ITDC at its different hotels and other officesto provide safe, hygienic, and healthyenvironment to guests and staff in view of theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Training sessions were conducted to sensitizethe employees regarding the safety norms &protocols issued by statutory bodies. And avideo presentation depicting the preparednessof the hotel for providing safe & hygienicenvironment was made for digitaldissemination of the information to the valuedguests and visitors patronizing the hotel.

Subsequent to the order issued by the DelhiDisaster Management Authority (DDMA), the

hotel resumed operations w.e.f. 24th August 2020and the Hon’ble Minister of State for Tourism& Culture - Shri Prahlad Singh Patel inspectedthe preparedness of the hotel for providing safe,hygienic, and healthy environment to guestsand staff in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of the emergency preparedness a fewrooms were earmarked as isolation facility forhousing suspected/sick guests. To ensureadherence to the norms & protocols; non-invasive thermal screening of all guests &employees entering the hotel premises is beingdone and the employees are using theprescribed Personal Protective Equipment likemasks, gloves, face shield and head gear.Hygiene kits for guests (sanitizers, masks,gloves) have been placed at vantage points.Social distancing norms are being followed byall employees while greeting the guestsrespectfully with ‘Namaste’. Common contactitems like pens, bill folders, menu cards, keyscards, luggage handling, photo identifications,cash transactions etc. are being disinfected/sanitized regularly. Digital mode of paymentis being encouraged and preferred. Forencouraging social distancing, discreetmessages (signage’s & posters) have been placedacross public areas. Automatic dispensers forhand sanitizer have been installed at all entrypoints and inside the guest elevators. An openair option for fine dining experience whilemaintaining safety and social distancing norms,is being provided in the lawns adjoining theOudh Restaurant. For monitoring the health ofthe employees a 5 day camp was organized inassociation with NDMC.

Office spaces have been licensed to The ElectionCommission of India and Indian RailwayFinance Corporation Limited

Hotel Samrat: The hotel hosted and/or wasassociated with various important functionsorganized by the Ministry of Tourism, RailVikas Nigam Limited, ONGC, Association ofDomestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI),



Coal India, Council of Scientific & IndustrialResearch.

Some of the major groups which stayed in thehotel were from Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd, LokSabha Secretariat (BPST), Central Coal FieldsLtd., Coal India Ltd, DGMS, Eastern CoalfieldsLtd, FSSAI, Global Hindu Federation, IndianAir Force, Indian Navy, Indira Gandhi NationalForest Academy, Ministry of Defense, NationalDisaster Management Authority, Research &Information System, South Eastern Coal Fields,UPSC, AIIMS Jodhpur, Bharat Cooking CoalLtd., BOSCH, C-DAC, FSSAI, HSA Advocates,Indian Institute Of Coal Management, IndianRed Cross Society, Institute Of Social StudiesTrust, Ministry of Defense, National School OfDrama, Aeronautical Development Agency,Custom/GST Officers group, Mahanadi CoalFields Ltd., South Eastern Coalfields, IndianEvacuees Group, etc.

During the shooting of Aamir Khan Productionmovie “Lal Singh Chaddha” in The AshokHotel, rental space along with 900 plus packedmeals were provided to the organizers and thecrew.

A new menu for in room dining has beenintroduced considering the latest requirements.The tea Lounge is being upgraded and a newmenu would be introduced shortly.

The hotel provided boarding and lodgingfacilities to guests arriving under the aegis of“Vande Bharat Mission” by Govt of India andto the foreign nationals stranded due tolockdown. The hotel implemented the norms& protocols directed by DDMA and otherauthorities and imparted training to employeeson the same.

The hotel sold 1489 packed meals which havebeen well accepted and are popular. In additionto the Indian fare, options like Chinese,Continental, South Indian, etc. have beenintroduced.

Hyderabad House: Prestigious events hostedby the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India for thePresident of USA, President of Brazil, PrimeMinister of Sri Lanka, Vice President ofVietnam, President of Portugal and thePresident of Myanmar were successfullycatered to. The establishment also catered to the



Bravery Awards, the visiting delegations fromvarious countries and other important eventshosted by MEA.

The unit also made the catering arrangementsfor several VIP events at the Jawaharlal NehruBhawan, South Block, PM House, etc.

Vigyan Bhawan: Several importantconferences, some of which were attended bythe Hon’ble President of India and Hon’blePrime Minister of India; organized by theMinistry of Road Transport & Highways, GSTCouncil, Min of Drinking Water & Sanitation,Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment,Central Council for research in Unani medicine,Narcotics Control Bureau, MIT World peaceuniversity, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Ministryof Ayush, etc. were successfully catered to.

The guidelines issued time to time by theauthorities and MoH&FW were strictlyadhered to and mandatory use of facial PPE’s,use of disposable hand gloves, use of alcoholbased sanitizers etc. was ensured alongwithcleanliness and sanitization norms for officesand equipment used in the unit.

Parliament House Catering Unit: As per themandate given by the Parliament of India toITDC for taking over the catering operationsfrom Northern Railways, a new unit with thenomenclature Parliament House Catering Unit(PHCU) has been set up which commencedoperations from 16th November, 2020.

The PHCU is responsible for providing VVIPcatering services inside the Parliament Houseto the Hon’ble Vice President of India, Hon’blePrime Minister of India, Hon’ble Speaker, LokSabha, Hon’ble Deputy Chairman RajyaSabha, Cabinet Ministers, Leader OfOpposition, all the Members of Parliament inLok Sabha & Rajya Sabha, visiting foreigndelegation, Secretary General - Lok Sabha &Rajya Sabha and other high ranking officials.Services would also be provided in numerousBanquet Halls, Committee Rooms in additionto the Pantries attached to the offices of

dignitaries inside and outside of ParliamentHouse Estate (PHE). Approximately 5000persons working in the PHE are availing theservices offered by PHCU, ITDC on a regularbasis.

Food Promotions: To showcase the ArunachalCulture a food promotion was organized in TheAshok wherein finest examples of theArunachali Cuisine were served to thediscerning guests while enjoying the liveperformance by the local dance troupe.Handicrafts & organic spices were also displayedfor sale.

And to celebrate the occasion of InternationalWomen’s Day a special discount was offered toladies on the F&B Offerings. Food Promotionsfor celebrating the “Independence Day”,“World Tourism Day”, “Navratri’’, etc. werealso organized.

Food Festival Abroad: Chef Kirti Rastogi andSh. Tara Dutt Bhat successfully planned andexecuted the Indian Food Festival in Brunei,Darussalam which was well appreciated.

17th ICF Annual Chef Awards 2020: The ITDCCulinary Team won the following awards:-

� Golden Hat Chef Award

� Master Craftsman North Indian Cuisine

� Master Craftsman Halwai

10.12 Ashok Events

Ashok Events – a strategic business unit of ITDCis a leading event management agencyhandling Conferences, Exhibitions, Workshops/Seminars and other National and Internationalevents. Ashok Events’ core competence isproviding one stop solutions as a ProfessionalConference Organizer for the entire gamut ofservices.

The division has made a mark in eventmanagement in a big way and with its richexpertise has an illustrious client list comprisingGovernment Ministries, Departments,



Autonomous Bodies and Authorities.

Ashok Events is the designated agency ofMinistry of Tourism for managing Conferences,Workshops, Conclaves, Award Ceremonies andother events of National importance.

The major events handled by the Ashok EventsDivision during the period 1st April, 2020 to15th December, 2020 which was otherwiseadversely affected by Government guidelineson account of the Covid 19 pandemic include:-

� “14th National Statistics Day” (Virtual,Interactive and Webcasting) organizedby the Ministry of Statistics &Programme Implementation,Government of India at NITI Aayog on29th June, 2020.

� “Vriksharopan Abhiyan” organized byCoal India Ltd. at the residence ofHon’ble Home Minister, Government ofIndia on 23rd July, 2020.

� “6th National Handloom DayCelebrations – 2020” organized NHDC,Ministry of Textiles in virtual platformmode at Udyog Bhawan, New Delhiwith 100 plus locations all over thecountry on 7th August, 2020.

� Swachh Mahotsav – Celebrating UrbanSwachhata Champion AwardsCeremony organized by Ministry ofHousing & Urban Affairs at NirmanBhawan, New Delhi on 20th August,2020.

� National Sports and Adventure Awardsorganized by Ministry of Youth Affairs& Sports at Hall No:5, Vigyan Bhawan,New Delhi on 29th August, 2020.

� Inauguration of MSME TechnologyCentre, Bhiwadi through virtualplatform, organized by MSME atBhiwadi on 31st August, 2020

� “Brainstorming Session with

Influencers and Travel Media”organized by Ministry of Tourism on8th September, 2020.

� National Service Scheme Awards 2018-19 organised by Ministry of YouthAffairs & Sports at Hall 5, VigyanBhawan, New Delhi on 24th September,2020.

�· World Tourism Day 2020 virtual eventheld on 27th September, 2020 atManthan, Transport Bhawan, NewDelhi.

� Virtual Inauguration by Hon’ble PrimeMinister of India of Sarai – SewerTreatment Plant; Jagjeetpur – SewerTreatment Plant; Chandighat (GangaMuseum) at Haridwar and LakharGhat - Sewer Treatment Plant; Muni KiReti - Sewer Treatment Plant & ChorPani – Sewer Treatment Plant atRishikesh, Uttarakhand beingorganized by National Mission forClean Ganga (NMCG) & WildlifeInstitute of India, Dehra Dun on 29thSeptember, 2020.

� “Ganga Avalokan” Exhibition atChandighat, Haridwar. Inaugurated on29th September, 2020 and would be fora duration of one year.

� “Ganga Utsav-2020” organized byNational Mission for Clean Ganga(NMCG) at Suite 292, 294 & BanquetHall, The Ashok Hotel, New Delhi from2nd to 4th November, 2020.

� “World Toilet Day” organized byDepartment of Drinking Water &Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti atBanquet Hall, The Ashok Hotel, NewDelhi on 19th November, 2020.

� “Comprehensive Analysis and HolisticManagement of Local Rivers and Waterbodies”, 5th India Water Impact



Summit IWIS 2020 from 10-15December, 2020 at NMCG.

10.13 Ashok International Trade (AIT)

The AIT Division of ITDC is an ISO 9000:2015certified division and facilitates duty freeshopping facilities to international travelers.ITDC is making efforts to consolidate its dutyfree business at the seaports. ITDC seaport dutyfree outlets are aligned with the IndianGovernment plans to India TourismDevelopment Corporation (ITDC) create cruisetourism around India’s coastal towns. Presentlydivision has duty free shops at Kamarajar,Kolkata, Haldia, Mangalore, Visakhapatnam,Goa, Paradip, Mumbai, Kakinada,Krishnapatnam, Cochin, V.O Chidambaranarand JNPT seaports. This year in Febrauarydivision has operationalised its duty free shopat JNPT (Jawaharlal Nehur Port-Mumbai). Thenew shop at Chennai port is also ready foroperationalisation and awaiting the customspermission. The Division has also beensuccessful in acquiring right to develop andoperate duty free shop at Deendayal Port-Kandla and plans are underway tooperationalise this shop at the earliest.

Despite the ongoing Pandemic situation, thedivision foremost efforts are on ensuring smoothand uninterrupted operations at all its shopspost lockdown.

AITD will also continue to keenly follow businessopportunities arising in airports travel retailspace and bid for concession rights ofsustainable duty free shops.

10.14 Ashok Travels & Tours (ATT)

Ashok Travels and Tours (ATT) is the travel wingof ITDC and is its third biggest vertical afterHotels and Events in terms of turnovergenerated. ATT has its presence in 05 citiesacross India at Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai,Bangalore and Hyderabad.

ATT is the preferred agency for providing airlineticketing to Government of India and its offices

and PSUs as per the orders of Department ofExpenditure, Ministry of Finance. In addition,ATT is also in the business of transport, toursand has also forayed into Cargo business. Inview of the potential that travel and tours tradeholds, ATT has been increasing its share of thepie in the travel trade and Cargo handling.

ATT has started Implant office at Indian Instituteof Technology, Patna to cater to its travelrequirements in addition to various newaccounts that have been added to its portfolioduring the year.

With the planned business activities and a majorthrust on ATT’s growth, the future of ATT looksbright and progressive.

10.15 Public relations & culture division

The Public Relations and Culture Division ofITDC has been constantly working towards tostrengthening the brand’s perception.

The department disseminated information tothe public through mass media in bothtraditional & digital space and made significantcontribution by developing narrative aroundvarious Developmental / Cultural / CSR/Awareness events.

As part of the engagement plan for The AshokHotel, the department developed & executed acommunications plan with specific goalsentailing promotion of hotel’s F&B capabilities.Food reviews & brand promotion activities wereorganised at the hotel’s restaurants.

The division also utilised the digital space, withreal time updates, promoting offers andpackages on social media and also throughdigital version of quarterly newsletter“Ashoknaama”.

10.16 Ashok consultancy and Engineeringservices

One of the premium division of ITDC, TheAshok Consultancy and Engineering ServicesDivision (an ISO 9001:2015 certified Division)undertakes services from concept to



commissioning of Tourism InfrastructureProjects, Up-gradation and renovation of ITDCproperties and SEL shows. Besides, it providesconsultancy services to Ministry of Tourism,State Tourism Departments and other privateentities.

The ACES division is actively involved in thepreparation of Tourism Master Plans, DetailedProject Reports, Feasibility Reports and alsoprovides Consultancy Services to Ministry ofTourism, various State Governments andprivate agencies, etc. It has a team ofexperienced engineers and architects who arewell versed in the development of tourisminfrastructure. The division has executed morethan 100 tourism infrastructure projects and hasalso prepared about 90 Detailed Project Reportsin the tourism field so far.

The Division is executing Tourism Infrastructureproject in Kerala at Sivagiri for Rs. 70.00 Crunder SWADESH Darshan Scheme and aproject of Rs 78.00 Cr at Puri in Orissa underPRASAD scheme of MOT. Recently, the divisionhas been sanctioned a project “Development inBeltaal lake at Damoh in Madhya Pradesh” for

Rs 26.00 Cr. The division is also preparing DPRfor a private entity for developing a resort at EastGodavari district in Andhra Pradesh for Rs 25.00Cr. Besides various other prestigious projects, thedivision is executing some most prestigious SELshows in various states of the Country whichcomprises SEL/ Multi media shows at of Leh andKargil in Ladhakh, Sarkhej Roza - Ahemdabad,Yadavindra Garden- Haryana, UdaigiriKhandagiri caves – Bhubaneshawar,Brahmsarover- Kurukshetra, Puttaparthy-Andhra Pradesh and Nigeen lake- Srinagar.Sound and Light/Multimedia Show project atDiu Fort,DIU completed by ITDC wasinaugurated by The Hon’ble President of Indiaon December 2020.

10.17 Ashok institute of hospitality &tourism Management

Ashok Institute of Hospitality & TourismManagement (AIH&TM) an ISO 9000:2015certified Hospitality training Institute is theHuman Resource Division of India TourismDevelopment Corporation Ltd. The institute isspread over two campuses, one at Hotel Samrat,Centre of Excellence, New Delhi and other at



Qutab Campus in Qutab Institutional Area, NewDelhi. Institute came into existence in 1971 forin-house training of employees of ITDC. Theinstitute is offering various degrees, diploma andcertificate courses in the area of hospitality.AIH&TM is conducting three years B.Scprogram in Hospitality and HotelAdministration (H&HA) in affiliation withNCHMCT/IGNOU.

AIH&TM also conducts following programs/courses:-

� B.Voc (in Food Production) andDiploma in Hospitality Management incollaboration with Jamia Millia IslamiaUniversity.

� One year Diploma courses in FoodProduction, Bakery & Confectionery,Front Office, Housekeeping and F&Bservices jointly with National Instituteof Open Schooling (NIOS), Ministry ofHuman Resource Development.

� Hunar se Rozgar (HSR) and SkillTesting and Certification (STC)programmes of Ministry of Tourism

� On the job training to IndustrialTrainees from various professionalHospitality Institutes in the country.

� Customized training programmes forvarious Government departments/institutions.

� Apprenticeship training under Ministryof Skill Development andEntrepreneurship.

� In these tough times of COVID-19pandemic, HRD Division of ITDC hascompiled a manual on Post COVIDOperations at hotels and is beingfollowed at every hotel and catering unitof ITDC.

� ITDC has signed an MoU with APSSDC

to promote skill education in HospitalitySector at Andhra Pradesh.

� AIH&TM has conducted varioustraining programmes virtually onHospitality Operations Post COVID-19for the staff and executives of reputedorganizations like IRCTC, MadhyaPradesh State Tourism DevelopmentCorporation and in a process offinalizing the same with IREDA,Karnataka Bhawan, J&K House etc.AIH&TM has also received anappreciation for conducting the saidtraining from these agencies

� In addition to above the Institute alsoconducts training programmes for itsemployees on regular basis. Theinstitute during the year is conductingvarious programmes on work-lifebalance and leadership developmentexclusively for women employees of theCorporation.

� ITDC has launched an“Entrepreneurship DevelopmentProgramme” for the youths andgraduates from hotel managementinstitutes along with recentlyunemployed and other experiencedhospitality professionals looking for newjob opportunities in the hospitalitysector. ITDC alongwith NCHMCT andNIESBUD will form groups andsocieties and will impart entrepreneurialtraining to the selected candidates andprovide non-financial support forrunning catering and other hospitality-related establishments (canteen/café,Event Management, ManpowerServices, Banquet services, Pest control,packaged foods etc.) in government andprivate offices/institutions and in othercommercial buildings in variouslocations.



10.18 Environment Managementinitiatives

ITDC Performance Standards have recognizedas a benchmark for environmental and socialrisk management by achieving certificationsfrom various organizations. The Ashok Hotel,New Delhi is LEED Gold certified hotel underUS Green Building Council since February2017 and the hotel is in the process of obtainingfor the LEED Platinum certification. Recently,the Ashok Hotel has also been certified underEnergy Management System (ISO50001:2018). Similarly, Hotel Samrat is also inthe process of obtaining for LEED GoldCertification from US Green Building Council.

For sustainable wastewater treatment, STP/ETP’s have been installed in all of ITDC’sproperties. The Ashok / Samrat Hotel have acapacity of 1 MLD STP and Hotel KalingaAshok, Bhubaneswar has a capacity of 30KLDof STP/ETP. Also, Organic waste convertor toreduce hazardous waste harmful toenvironment is utilized at Hotel Ashok andHotel Samrat.

The Ashok Hotel, New Delhi and Hotel KalingaAshok, Bhubaneswar have also installed solarwater Heating System to save energy. Inaddition, Hotel Kalinga Ashok have alsostandalone Solar street lights installed in itspremises.

10.19 Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR)

During the financial year 2019-20 CSR

expenditure was Rs. 38.97 Lakhs utilized forpurchase of Life Support Ambulance in districtDamoh and towards contribution to PM CaresFund.

10.20 Human Resource Management

The total manpower of ITDC for the year 2020-21(as on 01.12.2020) is 698 comprising of 164Executives and 534 Non-Executives. Thisincludes 201 employees belonging to ScheduledCaste, 17 to Scheduled Tribe and 48 from OtherBackward Classes. Further out of totalmanpower strength, 103 are women employees.

10.21 Industrial Relations

The overall Industrial Relation situation in ITDCcontinued to be harmonious and cordial.

10.22 Information Technology Initiatives

The file movement has started through e-officefor an efficient, transparent and goodgovernance. Meetings including BoardMeetings are being held through Videoconferencing to maintain social distancing,saving time, money & improvingcommunication. Further mobile apps onandroid & IoS platform for Hotels, SEL Bookingand Tour Package Inquiry has beenImplemented. Contactless payment optionthrough wallet & UPI has been started. Theexisting internet lease line have been upgradedfor faster communication, online meetings,webinars etc.

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CHAPTER-11

Statistics, Surveys and Studies


CHAPTER

11 Statistics, Surveys and Studies

11.1. Information and Research Activities

Statistical data are indispensable tools forsound evidence-based decision-making,planning, implementation and monitoring ofany policies and programmes. Consequently,the level of detail and the reliability of data, aswell as of its interpretation and use, have adirect impact on the effectiveness of suchpolicies and programmes. Tourism statistics isone among them. The Market ResearchDivision of the Ministry of Tourism isresponsible for collection, compilation anddissemination of tourism statistics on variousaspects of inbound, outbound and domestictourism in India.

The key statistics collected by the Divisioninclude data on foreign tourist arrivals,domestic and foreign tourist visits, foreignexchange earnings from tourism, etc.Periodical surveys are also undertaken toassess the profile of international and domestictourists, expenditure patterns, touristpreferences, satisfaction levels, etc. Based onthe requirement of the Ministry, this Divisionalso undertook tourism surveys, economic andstatistical research studies like assessingEmployment Level and Skill Gap inHospitality & Allied Sector, Study on MICEmarket in India, Assessment of Impact oftaxation/incentives on accommodation tariffsof hotel industry in India vis-à-vis othercountries, Recent Trends in Visitor Arrivals toCentrally Protected Monuments in India, Roleof Luxury tourist trains in promoting tourismin India etc.

With an aim to encourage universities forresearch in tourism, financial Assistance isprovided to Reputed Institutes and CentralUniversities to organise conferences, seminars,bringing out tourism journals etc. Preparationof Tourism Satellite Account, which measuresthe contribution of tourism towards country’sGDP as well as its employment, is also one ofthe major tasks of the division.

11.2. Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs)

FTAs during 2020 were 24.62 million (Jan-Nov)(Provisional) with a growth of -74.6% oversame period of the previous year.

During 2020, a total of 8.38 million (Jan-Nov)foreign tourists arrived on e-Tourist Visaregistering a growth of -67.2%.

11.3 Arrivals of Non Resident Indians(NRIs)

From 2014 onwards, Ministry of Tourism hasstarted to compile the arrivals of NRIS onannual basis and there were 6.98 millionarrivals of NRIs in India during 2019.

11.4 International Tourist Arrivals (ITAs)

In concordance with UNWTO, ITAs includeboth FTAs and Arrivals of NRIs. In the year2019, there were 17.91 million ITAs in India.

11.5 Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs)

FEEs during the period during Jan 2020 –March 2020 were Rs.44,203 crores (Provisionalestimates) with a growth of -15.6% over sameperiod of previous year.



FEEs during the period during Jan 2020 –March 2020 were US$ 6.159 billion (Provisionalestimates) with a growth of -17.1% over sameperiod of previous year.

11.6 Indian National Departures

The Numbers of Indian Nationals Departuresfrom India, during 2019 were 26.91 million ascompared to 26.29 million, during 2018,registering a growth of 2.4%.

11.7 Domestic Tourism

Domestic tourism continues to be an importantcontributor to the sector. As per the datafurnished by State/UT Governments and otherinformation available with the Ministry ofTourism, there were 2321.98 million domestictourist visits all over the country during the year2019.

11.8 Surveys & Studies

The Surveys & Studies commissioned by theMinistry of Tourism are useful in getting inputsfor formulation of policies and programmes forthe development of tourism in the country. TheMinistry also provides central financialassistance to State Government/UTAdministrations for the preparation of MasterPlans, Feasibility Studies and conductingstatistical survey/studies.

Details of Surveys, Studies, etc. currentlyongoing and completed during 2020-21andfinancial assistance provided to Institute forconducting research promotion workshops, etc.(as on 31.12.2020) are given at Annexure-V.

11.9 Tourism Satellite Account (TSA)

National Accounts (prepared every year byMinistry of Statistics & PI) measure the growthand contribution of various sectors likesmanufacturing, agriculture, services such asbanking, transport, insurance, etc., whilecomputing the GDP of the country. However,the System of National Accounts is not able tomeasure the growth and contribution of

tourism in GDP. This is because tourism is notan industry in the way industry is defined inthe System of National Accounts.

Tourism is a demand based concept definedby its consumption and not by its output.Industries defined in National Accounts, suchas Air transport, Hotel & Restaurants, etc.produce the same output irrespective ofwhether it is consumed by tourist or non-tourist. It is consumption by tourists thatdefines the tourism economy, which is notavailable in the National Accounts. Therefore,there is need for preparing Tourism SatelliteAccount for assessing the contribution oftourism in GDP.

Till date, Ministry of Tourism has got prepared,through National Council of AppliedEconomic Research, three TSAs of India forthe reference year 2002-03, 2009-10 and 2015-16 in the years 2006, 2012 and 2018 followingthe methodology recommended by UnitedNations World Tourism Organisation. As perthe TSA-Recommended MethodologicalFramework (TSA:RMF) 2008, the TSA of anycountry comprises of a set of 10 standardtables which are key to estimating theeconomic contribution of tourism in theeconomy. Preparing the tables in the standardrecommended format and following astandard broad methodology enablesinternational comparisons owing to thehomogeneity among countries.

The 3rd TSA of India was prepared in 2018 forthe reference year 2015-16 (using figures ofNational Accounts Statistics with base year2011-12 of CSO). As per estimation inaccordance with 3rd TSA for intervening yearsand subsequent years namely 2013-14, 2014-15, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19, thecontribution of tourism to GDP andemployment of the country is as given below:



2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19

Share in GDP (in %): 5.68 5.81 5.09 5.04 5.00 5.00

Direct (in %) 3.06 3.14 2.65 2.62 2.6 2.6

Indirect (in %) 2.62 2.67 2.44 2.42 2.4 2.4

Share in Jobs(in %) 11.91 12.14 12.38 12.2 12.29 12.95

Direct (%) 5.19 5.3 5.4 5.32 5.36 5.65

Indirect (%) 6.72 6.84 6.98 6.88 6.93 7.3

Direct + Indirect jobs 67.19 69.56 72.26 75.71 80.54 88.72due to tourism(in million)

Note: The above estimates have been updated using NAS 2020


Ministry of Tourism | 93Ministry of Tourism | 93

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CHAPTER-12

North-Eastern Region and Jammu &Kashmir - Special Emphasis


CHAPTER

12 North-Eastern Region and Jammu& Kashmir - Special Emphasis

12.1 North Eastern Region

North East Region of India comprises eightStates namely Arunachal Pradesh, Assam,Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland,Tripura and Sikkim. The location of the regionis strategically important as it has internationalborders with Bangladesh, Bhutan, China andMyanmar. The North Eastern Region isendowed with diverse tourist attractions andeach State has its own distinct features. TheMinistry of Tourism provides special emphasison the development and promotion of tourismfor North Eastern States. The initiatives of theMinistry of Tourism include:

i. Space on complimentary basis isprovided to the North Eastern States, inthe India Pavilions set up at majorInternational Travel Fairs andExhibitions, including WTM in London,ITB in Berlin, etc. to give these States anopportunity to showcase and promotetheir tourist products in the internationalsource markets.

ii. Familiarization (FAM) Tours to theNorth Eastern Region are arranged forTravel and Media Representatives fromOverseas to the States in the regions ona regular basis under the HospitalityScheme of this Ministry.

iii. Domestic Campaigns are also launchedto promote tourism to the North EasternRegion.

iv. International Tourism Mart is an annualevent organised in the North Eastern

region with the objective of highlightingthe tourism potential of the region in thedomestic and international markets. Itbrings together the tourism businessfraternity and entrepreneurs from theeight North Eastern States. The event isplanned and scheduled to facilitateinteraction between buyers, sellers,media, Government agencies and otherstakeholders.

v. Ministry provides financial assistance toNorth Eastern States which includesassistance for development of touristinfrastructure, promotion of fairs/festivals & tourism related events in theregion, information technology relatedprojects, publicity campaigns, marketdevelopment assistance, humanresource development, market research,etc.

vi. As per the modified guidelines of MDAdated 28.11.2020, Financial support willbe extended to the tourism serviceproviders for undertaking thepromotional activities within thecountry i.e. Participation in domestictravel fairs / exhibitions; Participation inTourism related Conferences /Conventions / Seminars organized byNational Tourism and HospitalityAssociations including ADTOI, ATOAI,FHRAI, IATO, ABTO, ICPB, IHHA,ITTA, HAI, TAAI, TAFI & FAITH andby reputed Commerce, Industry andTrade Organizations/ Associations in the



country, such as CII, FICCI,ASSOCHAM, PHD Chamber ofCommerce and Indian Chambers ofCommerce and any other tradeassociation recognised by the Ministryof Tourism from time to time;Participation in Conferences / Seminars/ Conventions / organised by the Centraland State Government TourismMinistries; Participation in Road Showsin different regions of the country andfor Online Promotion of tourismdestinations and products, tourpackages in the domestic market,including production of digitalpromotional brochures / leaflets. Apartfrom this, Financial support will beextended to Tourism Departments ofState Governments / UTAdministrations for undertaking thepromotional activities within thecountry i.e. Participation in domestictravel fairs / exhibitions; OnlinePromotion of tourism destinations andproducts, tour packages in the domestic

market, including production of digitalpromotional brochures / leaflets andfor Travel undertaken by officers andStaff of State govt./UT administrationfor Tourism product familiarisation.

Apart from this, one additional tour (above thethree tours) will be permissible for visiting anyState in the North East region, J&K andLadakh.As regards the revised guidelines forthe recognition of Tourism Service Provider theCriteria for Grant of Recognition Green Shoots/Start Ups and for Experienced Travel Agents /Tour Operators & Tourist Transport Operatoroperating in North East Region/ UT of J&K/Ladakh/ A&N/ Lakshadweep Islands has beenrelaxed in terms of Paid Up Capital, Annualturnover & Office Space.

12.2 Protected Area Permit (PAP)/Restricted Area Permit (RAP)

For a better and smooth travel experience ofTourists in the restricted/Protected area of thecountry, Ministry of Tourism regularlycoordinates with Ministry of Home Affairs and

Camel Safari-hunder-nubra, J&K



as a result of this Ministry of Home Affairs hasrelaxed the PAP/RAP for a further period of 5Years i.e. till 31.12.2022 in the states of Manipur,Mizoram and Nagaland and Union Territoryof Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

12.3 Domestic Promotion and Publicityincluding Hospitality (DPPH)Scheme

� Domestic tourism plays an importantrole in the overall development of thetourism sector in India.

� Ministry of Tourism undertakes variouspromotional activities for the promotion

of Domestic Tourism and with theobjective of increasing Domestic TouristVisits.

� These activities are primarily aimed atincreasing awareness about tourismdestinations and products, promotingtourism within the country with focuson priority areas like the North Eastand Jammu & Kashmir.

� Spreading Social Awareness messagesand promoting events which have thepotential for attracting tourists.

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Hornbill Festival, Nagaland

- L

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CHAPTER-13

Gender Equality


CHAPTER

13 Gender Equality

Tourism is a service industry with a strongfemale presence. Hence, gender sensitizationand ensuring equal rights to the women areimportant concerns of the Ministry.

The Ministry ensures that women officials areregularly participated in the various trainingprogrammes for their capacity building.

In compliance with the instructions ofDepartment of Women & Child Developmentand guidelines issued in implementation of thedirectives of Hon’ble Supreme CourtJudgement dated 13th August, 1997 in the case

of Vishakha and others vs. State of Rajasthanand Others on the subject of sexual harassmentof women in the workplace, this Ministry hadconstituted a Complaint Committee forconsidering complaints of sexual harassment ofwomen working in the Ministry of Tourism withthe approval of the then Secretary(Tourism) in2003. The composition of the ComplaintsCommittee is revised from time to timesubsequent to transfers etc. of the existingChairperson/Members.

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CHAPTER-14

Welfare Measures


CHAPTER

14 Welfare Measures

14.1 Scheduled Castes/Scheduled TribesCell

The Liason Officer for the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Cell in the Ministry whoattends to the grievances on service matter ofScheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribesemployees of the Ministry and its attached/subordinate offices is a Deputy Secretary/Director level officer. The Cell mainly acts forcompliance of orders issued in respect ofreservation policy from time to time.

14.2 Reservation for SC, ST and OBCcandidates

All recruitment in the Ministry and itssubordinate offices are being made as per theorders of reservation issued byGovernment from time to time andreservation rosters are maintained

accordingly. Regular annual returns on thesubject are forwarded to the concernedAuthorities.

14.3 Reservation for Divyangjan

In Compliance of order of the Hon’ble SupremeCourt in the matter of Shri Anuj Goyal vs UOI& Ors. and direction of Department ofEmpowerment of Persons with Disabilities(Divyangjan) OM No.34-16/2018-DD-III dated16.08.2019, the Expert Committee of theMinistry of Tourism had identified different levelof posts in Group “A”, “B” & “C” having anelement of Direct Recruitment, as suitable forpersons with benchmark disabilities inpursuance of the Rights of Persons withDisabilities Act, 2016. The said information isalso available on the Ministry’s website http://tourism.gov.in.

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Locals Jamnagar Gujarat



CHAPTER-15

Vigilance


CHAPTER

15 Vigilance

A separate vigilance wing in this Ministry hasbeen functioning to deal with various vigilancematters.

Emphasizing the need of preventive vigilance,especially on public procurement, All theprocurement of office related items eg:-stationary, furniture, computer etc. arepurchased through GEM portal of theGovernment.

Rotational transfer of all the staffs with 3 yearsof continuous service on a particular post has

been strictly implemented and monitored. Updated report being posted on PROBITYportal.

To reduce direct interface between officers andconcerned applicants in case of recognition oftravel trade service providers and classificationof hotels, online approval/ classification systemsare in operation and being monitored.

Strict compliance of e-office system is beingfollowed to reduce chances of disclosure ofsensitive information at any level.

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Jama Masjid, Delhi



CHAPTER-16

Court Cases


CHAPTER

16 Court Cases

The details of Court Cases pending in the in the CAT, New Delhi as on 31.12.2020 are as under :

Sl. Case/Petition No. Court/Bench Case filed by Brief particulars of caseNo.

1 O.A. No. CAT New Shri Bal Kishan, Seniority issue for promotion to100/3786/2016 Delhi Staff Car Driver Special Grade of Staff Car Driver.

2 O.A. No. CAT Shri N. Allegation of taking bribes for hotel180/502/2018 Ernakulum Velmurgan, classification.

Bench AD

3 O.A.No. CAT Chennai Shri Sanjay Challenged the holding of the1529 of 2018 Shreevats, RD, written exam and interview for the

ITO, Chennai post of DDG/RD in overseas offices.

4. OA N0.4367/2020 High Court of Shri R.K. Mishra, Challenged the selection process inDelhi AD, ITO Indore the grade of Asstt. Director for

overseas posting

5. OA No.1765/2020 CAT, New Shri T.W. Releasing provisional PensionDelhi Sudhaker, the

then Asstt. DG

6. W.P.(C) No 5710 High Court Today Hotels vs. Power tariff set by BSES Rajdhani,of 2013 of Delhi BSES Rajdhani petition for charging industrial unit

& Anr rate rather than Commercial rate ofelectricity

7. W.P. (C) Rajasthan High Ayush Capital subsidyNo.7053 of 2011 Court, Jaipur Hospitality and

Health ServicesPvt. Ltd

8. W.P.(C) High Court VJM Rescrs Classification of Hotel31623/ 2010 of Kerala Investments (SA)

(Pty) Ltd.Vs.Samudra RetreatsKovalam, Pvt.Ltd. and 4 ors.

9. No. W.P. ( C) High Court of Mr. Sasidharan The inspection of the hotel in 042812 of 2013 Kerala Hotel Noopura Star Category was postponed on

Ernakulam Residency, 28.01.2013 on receipt of a fakePazhayannur, orders of court received at Hqrts.Thrisur, Kerala The owner of the hotel has filed this



petition and obtained orders of thecourt for inspection on 30.01.2013.

10. No. W.P (C) High Court of M/s Harbour Based on the Govt. of Kerala5372 of 2013 Kerala Hotel,Maliankara notification dated 12.02.1013 the

Ernakulam North Paravur petitioner has interpreted that fromKerala. 12.02.2013 onwards no new bar

licenses will issue by the State ofKerala and it should be treated thatthe local law does not permit theissuance of bar license in the State.Hence clause 8 (f) of the Ministryof Tourism guidelines dated28.06.2012 is applicable in the caseof the petitioner treating it as barlicense prohibited in State.

11. No. W.P (C) High Court of Hotel Aquarock Based on the Govt. of Kerala5325 of 2013 Kerala Mannathala notification dated 12.02.1013 the

Ernakulam Thiruvantha- petitioner has interpreted that frompuram 12.02.2013 onwards no new bar

licenses will issue by the State ofKerala and it should be treated thatthe local law does not permit theissuance of bar license in the State.Hence clause 8 (f) of the Ministryof Tourism guidelines dated28.06.2012 is applicable in the caseof the petitioner treating it as barlicense prohibited in State.

12. W.P. (C) High Court Hotel Well View Classification of Hotel without Bar15435/ 2013 of Kerala Residency Vs. License

The MemberSecretary(HRACC)

13. W.P.(C) High Court Nirmallyam Classification of Hotel without Bar14208/ 2013 of Kerala Residency License

Hotels P. Ltd.Vs. Union ofIndia

14. W.P. (C) High Court Sri N. Classification of Hotel11479/ 2014 of Kerala Dharmadan

(SR.) vs Unionof India

15. W.P.(C) 2687/ 2014 High Court Paravoor Galaxy Classification of Hotelof Kerala Hotels (P) Ltd. vs.

The MemberSecretary(HRACC)



16. Complaint No. Kerala Lok Complaint filled Complaint against hotel forC615/2014 B Ayukta P.L. Jacob against submitting wrong documents for

Athirapilly getting classificationResidency HotelPvt. Ltd.

17. WP(C) 30865/2017 High Court of Mrs. Pathuma Case is regarding bar license,Kerala Bheevi vs DSP, parking rules violation, public

Ernakulam Rural, nuisance etc. against Hotel RitzAluva RD(South), International, which is presently aSecy (T), Govt. 3 star classified hotel.of Kerala, ExciseCommr.,DeputyExcise Commr.,Secretary (Fin),Govt. of KeralaSecy,PerumbavoorMunicipalityManagingPartner, HotelRitz International,Ms. Sindhu, Dist.Collector,SuperintendingEngineer PWD.

18. WP(C) 10818/2017 High Court of Mr. Against Classification of HotelKerala Somashekharan Indraprastha, Nedumangad.

Nair vsNedumangadMunicipality &Others

19. WP(C) 11263/2017 High Court of Hotel Abhirami, Case is regarding 3 starKerala Trivandrum vs classification of the petitioner hotel

Excise Commr., and Bar License. Hotel alreadyDy. Excise issued 3 star classificationCommr., SecyTaxes G Dept.,Secy (T), Govt.of Kerala

20. O.A. No. CAT, Sh. Neeraj Non-selection to the post of063/00643 of 2019 Chandigarh Aggarwal, Principal IHM, Kufri, Shimla

Applicant

21. O.A. No. CAT, Bangalore Dr. S. Kannan, Seeking order to modify the clause00041 of 2020 Applicant for category -A for the post of

Principal



22. O.A. No. CAT, Sh. L.V. Kumar CBI had recommended180/232 of 2019 Ernakulum Applicant departmental action against the

Bench applicant

23. WP. No. High Court Sh. MPS Yadav Regarding the qualification7483 of 2012 bench at prescribed in the DR Notification

Gwalior for the post of Assistant Professorin IITTM in the year 2012

Khajuraho, Chitragupta Temple

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CHAPTER-17

Departmental AccountingOrganisation


CHAPTER

17 Departmental AccountingOrganisation

17.1. Secretary (Tourism) is the ChiefAccounting Authority of the Ministry ofTourism. He discharges his functions throughand with the assistance of the Joint Secretary &Financial Adviser (JS&FA) and the ChiefFinancial Controller of the Ministry.

17.2 The Chief Financial Controller heads theaccounting organization and ensurestransparent and effective financial managementof the Ministry through Principal AccountsOffice/Pay & Accounts Office (Tourism).

Budgetary provision for Ministry of Tourism forthe financial year 2020-21 is as under:

Revenue Section 2499.83 Crore

Capital Section 0.00 Crore

Total 2499.83 Crore

The departmentalized accounting organizationof Ministry of Tourism comprises of PrincipalAccounts Office, one Pay & Accounts Office andInternal Audit Wing.

17.2(1) Principal Accounts Office

Principal Accounts Office is common forMinistry of Civil Aviation and Ministry ofTourism, discharging the following functions.

Consolidation of the accounts of Ministry ofTourism as per provisions of Civil AccountsManual and in the manner prescribed byController General of Accounts.

Preparation of Monthly and Annual Accounts,submission of Statement of Central Transactionsand the materials for the Finance Accounts tothe Controller General of Accounts, Ministry ofFinance.

Issue of Inter Departmental Authorisation tovarious agent Ministries.

Rendition of technical advice to Pay & AccountsOffice and maintaining necessary liaison withthe Controller General of Accounts Office toeffect overall co-ordination and control inaccounting matters.

17.2(2) Pay & Accounts Office

Pay & Accounts Office caters to the financialmanagement needs of Ministry by way ofrelease of funds, expenditure control, and otherreceipts & payment functions as under:

(i) Pre-check of bills submitted by Non-Cheque Drawing & Disbursing Officersof the Ministry.

(ii) Authorization of funds to domestic andoverseas Cheque Drawing & DisbursingOfficers through issue of “Letter ofCredit”. There are 19 domestic CDDOsand 8 overseas CDDOs located invarious countries.

(iii) Post-check of all paid vouchers/payments made by domestic as well asoverseas offices.

(iv) Release payment of Loans/Grants-in-aidto statutory bodies and state levelagencies including execution andimplementing agencies.

v) Compilation of monthly account basedon monthly expenditure, receipts andpayment authorizations, and by dulyincorporating reconciled accounts ofCDDOs.



(vi) Maintenance of General ProvidentFund accounts, and remittance of NewPension Scheme contribution to trusteebanks. Settlement of Inward andoutward claims. Authorization/payment of pension, Commutation,Gratuity, Leave Encashment, etc to theretiring employees.

17.2(3) Internal Audit

Internal Audit Wing, which is common forMinistry of Civil Aviation and Ministry ofTourism having sanctioned strength of fourAssistant Accounts Officers and fourAccountant / Senior Accountants is headed byChief Financial Controller.

The role of the internal audit organization ismainly to inspect that expenditure controlmechanism is in place and financial proprietaryRules are followed while exercising financialpowers by the authorities who are entrusted withsuch powers. In order to achieve this target,internal audit draws Annual Audit Calendarbased on periodicity, budget allocation andnature & scope of scheme being implementedby the particular office/agency.

Internal audit is conducted by exercising testchecks of basic records of different offices of theMinistry for removal of misstatement infinancial records to make them more reliable.As such internal audit strengthens the overallaccounting management framework.

The concept and orientation of internal audit,as of now has been more of risk-based audit, inorder to assess the economy, efficiency andeffectiveness of scheme for contributing to betterGovernment spending, public accountabilityand management. Accordingly, the internalaudit of the records of Headquarter, regionaland overseas offices are undertaken as perdirections and requirement.

In all there are 57 auditable units in the Ministryof Tourism; out of which 49 units are located inIndia and 8 units in abroad. 27 AutonomousBodies and 30 CDDOs/NCDDOs (05 RDIT, 15IT Domestic, 08 IT Overseas, 01 PAO (Tourism)

and 01 Ministry of Tourism (HQ).

During the year Internal Audit of IHM Shillong,IHM Bangalore, India Tourism Kochi andScheme Audit of Goa Tourism DevelopmentCorporation Ltd were conducted.

The position of outstanding paras of InternalAudit is as under:

No. of Units Para Outstanding as on date

49 858

17.3 Initiatives for e-Governance:

In accordance with the guideline issued by theMinistry of Finance and Controller General ofAccounts the accounting organisation ofMinistry of Tourism has fully operationalizedthe payment deliverance platform by completeroll out of Public Financial Management System(PFMS) for overall improvement andtransparency in the accounting function up tothe implementing agency level.

17.3(1) Public Financial ManagementSystem (formerly CPSMS)

The Public Financial Management System(PFMS) works with the objective of establishingan online Financial Management Informationand Decision Support System for trackingfunds released under various schemes ofGovernment of India.

PFMS being a centralized and fullyoperationalized IT application for Fund transferis in a position to facilitate “Just in time budgetrelease” and complete monitoring of utilizationof funds up to end level beneficiaries.

As per directions of Ministry of Finance thecomplete roll out of PFMS has been done andthe system is fully operational in Ministry ofTourism and as a result the funds are beingreleased through PFMS to all concernedincluding Grantee Institution/AutonomousBodies etc. Further action has also beeninitiated for roll out of EAT module of PFMSby all the stakeholders.

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CHAPTER-18

Important AuditObservations


CHAPTER

18 Important AuditObservations

As per Audit Paras Monitoring System (e-APMS) Controller General of Accounts Report,there are 3(three) C&AG Audit paras pendingagainst the Ministry of Tourism as on 31st

December, 2020.

Six Public Accounts Committee (PAC) paras of132nd report of 16th Lok Sabha were pending

against the Ministry in respect of “Irregularitiesin Procurement of Goods and Services. Awardof Work of Non Existent Firms, Unrealized VATRefunded and Excess Payment ofDepartmental Charges.” However, ActionTaken Notes (ATNs) in respect of all pendingPAC paras have been submitted to PAC branchfor their action in the matter.

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CHAPTER-19

Implementation of Right toInformation (RTI) Act, 2005


CHAPTER

19 Implementation of Right toInformation (RTI) Act, 2005

19.1 To promote transparency andaccountability, the Right to Information Act (RTIAct), 2005 has already been implemented inthis Ministry. In accordance with the provisionof section 4 (I) (B) of this Act, the Ministry hasposted information and Guidelines on variousschemes, projects and programs beingimplemented by it along with its organizationset – up functions and duties of its officers andemployees etc. Records and documents etc.have been made available on the Ministry’sofficial website www.tourism.gov.in under adistinct section namely RTIA. It has also beenhyperlinked’

19.2 Information regarding activities of thisMinistry is available for public on the above saidwebsite and is also kept in the library.

19.3 Information otherwise which are notavailable at the official web-site may beobtained by Citizens of India on payment ofrequisite fees as prescribed in the Right toInformation Act, 2005.

19.4 There are 29 subjects for disclosureunder RTI which has been identified by theMinistry. CPIOs and Appellate Authorities havebeen designated for the respective identifiedsubject.

19.5 As per quarterly report submitted of thisMinistry of Central Information Commission,New Delhi, a total of 653 RTI applications werereceived during the period from 1st January,2020 to 31st December, 2020 and suitable actionhas been taken in a time bound manner.

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CHAPTER-20

Progressive Use of OfficialLanguage Hindi


CHAPTER

20 Progressive Use of OfficialLanguage Hindi

20.1 Progressive Use of Official LanguageHindi

To ensure compliance of the Official LanguagePolicy of the Union and to take action on ordersissued by the Department of Official Languagefrom time to time, the Hindi section of theMinistry of Tourism takes every action toachieve the goals set out in the annualprogramme issued by the Department ofOfficial Language. Along with this, the HindiSection deals with the entire translation workrelated to the Ministry.

20.2 Measures to achieve the targets setout in the Annual Program issuedby the Department of OfficialLanguage:

1. Compliance with Section 3 (3)

As per the directives of the Deptt. of officiallanguage compliance of section 3 (3) and rule 5of Official Language act is ensured in theMinistry and its affiliated and subordinateoffices. All the letters received in English arereplied to in Hindi. The correspondence of theministry is gradually increasing and allmeasures are being taken to achieve target setout in the annual programme. All the officerand staff of the ministry are doing more andmore notings in Hindi in the files.

2. Committees

i. Official Language ImplementationCommittee: Official LanguageImplementation Committee (OLIC) isformed in the Ministry and its quarterly

meetings are organized on regular basis.In these meetings, the work done by thesections of the ministry in Hindi isreviewed section-wise. Due to thesituation arises from pandemic Covid 19the OLIC meetings, were organizedthrough telephonic conversations andvideo conferencing.

ii. Committee of Parliament on OfficialLanguage: During the year to examinethe use of Hindi in the SubordinateOffices of the Ministry the second sub-committee of the Committee ofParliament on Official Languageinspected Ministry’s work as well as theofficers under control of the Ministry. Inthe inspection of the Ministry Secretary(Tourism) replied to the questions askedby the members of the Committee.During the inspection meetings of officesunder control of the Ministry, EconomicAdvisor and officers of Hindi Sectionwere present as representatives of theMinistry. Assurances given to theCommittee in inspection meetings arecompleted within the period of sixmonths or as per the directions of theCommittee. The follow up action on theassurances given to the committee bySecretary (Tourism) was startedinstantly by the Hindi section of theMinistry.

3. Special measures to promote the useof Hindi:

i. Incentive Scheme and Cash Prize:



Annual Incentive scheme of theDepartment of Official Language fordoing official work in Hindi is applicablein the Ministry for the year 2019-20.

ii. Hindi Day and Hindi month: Hindimonth was organized from 14 to 30September, 2019 in Ministry of Tourism.On the eve of Hindi Day, the messageof the Honorable Home Minister andthe appeal of Honorable TourismMinister (IC) was released on Ministry’swebsite and message of Secretary(Tourism) on Hindi day was released,among Officers & Staff of the Ministryin the notice board of e-office.

iii. Hindi Workshop: Workshops arebeing organized regularly to removehesitation and resolve day to dayproblems of working in Hindi forofficers & staff.

iv. To help all the officers and employees inofficial work in Hindi, the phrases usedin day to day work have been sent tohigher officers by email so that they canwork in Hindi in e-office. Apart fromthis the same phrases has been uploadedon the notice board of e-office so that allthe officers and employees of theMinistry can use them.

v. Inspection of offices by Ministryofficials: Department of OfficialLanguage has set a target of 25% for theofficial language inspection of thesubordinate offices of Ministry/Department. Due to the situation arisesfrom Covid 19 the inspection wasposponed.

4. Specific functions

i. Rahul Sankrityayan Tourism AwardScheme: In this Ministry, a scheme isbeing run in the name of “RahulSankrityayan Paryatan AwardScheme” since 1989. Under this scheme,cash prizes and certificates are given tothe best books originally written in Hindion tourism. Prizes were given to writersof selected books for the year 2017-18and 2018-19.

ii. Publication of Home Magazine“Atulya Bharat”: In the pursuance ofthe decision taken in the meeting of theHindi Advisory Committee on16.9.2015, the publication of quarterlyhome magazine namely “AtulyaBharat” is being published on quarterlybasis regularly by the Ministry. Theeditions of this year were bit delayed dueto pendamic Covid 19 but after the startof the unlock the work of the magazinestarted rapidly and so far 20 editionshave been published.

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CHAPTER-21

Swachh Bharat Mission


CHAPTER

21 Swachh Bharat Mission

21.1 Swachhta Action Plan (SAP)

“Swachhta” is considered as one of the pillarsof tourism, as a clean tourist place is moresustainable in the longer run, which attractstourism as well as investment. This also resultsin good health and a sense of pride amongstthe local residents and a feeling of satisfactionamongst the tourists. Considering theimportance of cleanliness & hygiene, Ministryof Tourism has implementing the SwachhtaAction Plan (SAP) activities through IndianInstitute of Tourism and Travel Management(IITTM), Gwalior to create awareness amongSchool / college students and stake-holders. Dueto Covid-19 pandemic this year Ministry ofTourism undertaking SAP activities on VCmode through webinars, audio-visual etc. inselected 12 States/UTs at 55 sites/places duringthe year 2020-21.

21.2 Swachhta Pakhwada

Keeping in view of the gravity of Covid -19pandemic, this year the Ministry of Tourism hadorganized Swachhta Pakhwada activities from16th – 30th September 2020 on VC modethrough webinars, audio-visual etc. across the

country through its Indiatourism offices, IndiaTourism Development Corporation (ITDC) andeducational institutions under Ministry ofTourism like Indian Institute of Tourism andTravel Management (IITTM), Institute of HotelManagement (IHM) etc., a total no. of 534activities / webinars on the various topics likeimportance of cleanliness & sanitation duringthe Covid period, steps taken to prevent thespread of Corona Virus, Water Conservation &Rain water Harvesting etc. had been organisedacross the country.

21.3 Swachhta Hi Seva (SHS)

Due to Covid-19 pandemic, this year theactivities under Swachhta Hi Seva could not beundertaken.

21.4 Swachhta Award

In order to recognize the efforts of State/UTGovernments to maintain tourist places clean,awards titled “Swachh Paryatan Sthaan”earlier known as Swachhta Award and ”BestCivic Management of a tourist destinationin India Award under category A for city,B for Town / Urban Local Bodies and C forVillage has been instituted by the Ministry.

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Officials of Ministry of Tourism taking Swachhta Pledge.

IHM-Hyderabad, organized a webinar. “Importance of clealiness & sanitation inthe COVID era”.



ANNEXURE


ANNEXURE-I

India tourism Offices in India

Golkonda Hyderabad, Telangana

Regional Offices

1. Chennai

2. Guwahati

3. Kolkata

4. Mumbai

5. New Delhi

Other Offices

1. Agra

2. Aurangabad

3. Bengaluru

4. Bhubaneswar

5. Goa

6. Hyderabad

7. Imphal

8. Indore

9. Jaipur

10. Kochi

11. Naharlagun (Itanagar)

12. Patna

13. Port Blair

14. Shillong

15. Varanasi



ANNEXURE - IIIndiatourism Offices Abroad

Sr. Overseas Revised Jurisdiction No. Indiatourism

Office

1. Beijing China, Mongolia, Hong Kong and Macau

2. Dubai Entire Africa including Mauritius and Madagascar and Entire MiddleEast, Turkey and Cyprus.

3. Frankfurt Austria, France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain,Israel, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

4. London Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands and United Kingdom,

5. Paris CIS countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova,Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), Georgia,Ukraine, Baltic countries (Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia), EasternEurope (Albania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, CzechRepublic, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania,Serbia, Slovak Republic and Slovenia) and Greece

6. New York Entire U.S.A, Canada, Caribbean Islands, Central & South America

7. Singapore Singapore and other ASEAN Countries, Australia, New Zealand, Fijiand other island nations in the Pacific

8. Tokyo Japan, North & South Korea, Taiwan

India tourism Offices Domestic

Sr. No. Domestic India tourism Office Jurisdiction

1. Delhi Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nepal

2. Kolkata Bhutan and Bangladesh

3. Chennai Sri Lanka and Maldives

Star Fish, Agatti Island, Lakshadweep



Secretary

Shri Arvind Singh, Secretary to theGovernment of India

Special/Additional Secretary Level Officer

Ms. Meenakshi Sharma, Director General(Tourism)

Annexure-III

SENIOR OFFICERS OF THE MINISTRY

Joint Secretaries and equivalent

Shri Sanjay Pandey, Joint Secretary & FinancialAdvisor

Ms. Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General

Shri Rakesh Kumar Verma, Joint Secretary

Shri Gyan Bhushan, Economic Advisor

Ms. Anita Baghel, Additional Director General



Annexure-IV

Details of Amount released under Swadesh Darshan Scheme upto 31st December, 2020

(in Rs. Crore)

Sl. State/UT Name of the Name of the Project Amt. / AmountNo. Circuit revised released

amountSanctio-ned

Year 2014-15

1. Arunachal North-East Development of Circuit at 49.77 39.81Pradesh Circuit Bhalukpong- Bomdila and Tawang.

2. Andhra Coastal Development of Circuit at Kakinada - 67.84 67.84Pradesh Circuit Hope Island - Coringa Wildlife

Sanctuary - Passarlapudi - Aduru -S Yanam - Kotipallyanjuna

Total of 2014-15 117.61 107.65

Year 2015-16

3. Manipur North-East Development of Circuit at Imphal- 72.23 61.32Circuit Khongjom

4. Sikkim North-East Development of Circuit linking 98.05 92.77Circuit Rangpo (entry) – Rorathang- Aritar-

Phadamchen- Nathang-Sherathang-Tsongmo- Gangtok-Phodong-Mangan- Lachung-Yumthang-Lachen- Thangu-Gurudongmer-Mangan- tamil-TuminLingee-Singtam (exit).

5. Uttarakhand Eco Circuit Development of Circuit at Tehri- 69.17 65.71Chamba- Sarain around Tehri Lake.

6. Rajasthan Desert Circuit Development of Shakambhari Mata 63.96 51.17Temple, Sambhar Salt Complex,DevyaniKund, SharmisthaSarovar,Naliasarand Other Destinations.

7. Nagaland Tribal Circuit Development of Circuit at Peren- 97.36 87.62Kohima- Wokha

8. Madhya Wildlife Development of Circuit at Panna- 92.22 81.15Pradesh Circuit Mukundpur- Sanjay- Dubri-

Bandhavgarh- Kanha- Mukki-Pench.



9. Andhra Coastal Development of Nellore,Pulikat Lake, 49.46 47.76Pradesh Circuit Ubblamadugu water falls, Nelapattu

Bird Sanctuary, Mypadu Beach,Ramatheertham

10. Telangana Eco Circuit Development of Circuit in 91.62 87.04Mahaboobnagar districts (Somasila,Singotam, Kadalaivanam,Akkamahadevi, Egalanpanta,Farahabad, Uma Maheshwaram,Mallelatheertham)

11. Kerala Eco Circuit Development of Pathanamthitta- 76.55 61.24Gavi- Vagamon- Thekkady

12. Mizoram North East Integrated Development of Thenzawl 92.26 87.65Circuit & South Zote, Districts Serchhip

and Reiek

13. Assam Wildlife Development of Manas– Pobitora– 94.68 81.77Circuit Nameri-Kaziranga-Dibru-Saikhowa.

14. Puducherry Coastal Development of Dubrayapet, 85.28 61.82

Circuit Arikamedu China Veerampattinam,Chunnabmar, Nallavadu, Manapet,Kalapet, French Quarter, TamilQuarter and Yanam

15. Arunachal North East Integrated Development of Jirigaon, 96.72 84.24

Pradesh Circuit Nafra, Seppa, Pappu, Pasa, PakkeValleys, Lumdung, LafangSohungLake, Taro Yar, New Sagalee, Ziro,Yomcha

16. Tripura North East Development of North East Circuit: 82.85 79.67

Circuit Agartala - Sipahijala - Melaghar -Udaipur - Amarpur- Tirthamukh-Mandirghat– Dumboor- NarikelKunja- Gandachara– Ambassa

17. West Bengal Coastal Development of Beach Circuit: 85.39 68.31

Circuit Udaipur- Digha- Shankarpur-Tajpur- Mandarmani- Fraserganj-Bakkhlai-Henry Island

18. Chhattisgarh Tribal Circuit Development of Jashpur- Kunkuri- 96.10 80.44

Mainpat- Ambikapur- Maheshpur -Ratanpur- Kurdar-Sarodadadar-Gangrel- Kondagaon– NathiyaNawagaon- Jagdalpur- Chitrakoot-Tirthgarh.



19. Maharashtra Coastal Development of Sindhudurg Coastal 19.06 16.43Circuit Circuit (Shiroda Beach, Sagareshwar,

Tarkarli, Vijaydurg (Beach & Creek),Devgad (Fort & Beach), Mitbhav,Tondavali, Mocehmad and NivatiFort).

Total of 2015-16 1362.96 1196.12

Year 2016-17

20. Goa Coastal Development of Sinquerim-Baga, 97.65 91.00Circuit Anjuna-Vagator, Morjim-Keri,

Aguada Fort and Aguada Jail.

21. Jammu & Himalayan Integrated Development of Tourism 77.33 60.47Kashmir Circuit Infrastructure Projects- Bhagwati

Nagar

22. Telangana Tribal Circuit Integrated Development of Mulugu- 79.87 75.88

Laknavaram- Medavaram- Tadvai-Damaravi- Mallur- BogathaWaterfalls.

23. Meghalaya North East Development of Umium (Lake View), 99.13 92.91Circuit U Lum Sohpetbneng-

Mawdiangdiang – Orchid LakeResort.

24. Madhya Buddhist Development of Sanchi-Satna- 74.02 69.08Pradesh Circuit Rewa-Mandsaur-Dhar.

25. Kerala Spiritual Development of Sabarimala - 99.99 20.00Circuit Erumeli-Pampa-Sannidhanam.

26. Manipur Spiritual Development of Shri Govindajee 53.80 43.04

Circuit Temple, Shri BijoyGovindajee Temple– Shri Gopinath Temple – ShriBungshibodon Temple – Shri KainaTemple.

27. Gujarat Heritage Development of Ahmedabad-Rajkot- 71.77 62.63Circuit Porbandar –Bardoli- Dandi.

28. Haryana Krishna Development of Tourism 97.35 77.88

Circuit Infrastructures at Brahmsarovar,SanhitSarovar, Narkatari, Jyotisar inKurukshetra.

29. Rajasthan Krishna Integrated Development of Govind 75.80 60.64

Circuit Dev ji temple (Jaipur), KhatuShyamJi (Sikar) and Nathdwara(Rajsamand).



30. Sikkim North East Development of Tourist Circuit 95.32 76.25circuit Linking Lingmoo-Lingee– Maka-

Temi-BermoikNamchi- Okharey-Sombaria-Daramdin- Melli (Exit)

31. Madhya Heritage Development of Gwalior – Orchha – 89.82 85.33Pradesh circuit Khajuraho – Chanderi –

Bhimbetka – Mandu

32. Kerala Spiritual Development of Sree Padmanabha 92.22 73.77Circuit Temple,Aranmula- Sabrimala

33. Bihar Tirthankar Development of Vaishali- Arrah- 37.19 26.19circuit Masad- Patna- Rajgir- Pawapuri-

Champapuri.

34. Bihar Spiritual Integrated Development of 44.76 42.52circuit Kanwaria Route: Sultanganj- Mojma-

Banka.

35. Odisha Coastal Development of Gopalpur, Barkul, 70.82 52.96circuit Satapada and Tampara.

36. Nagaland Tribal circuit Development of Mokokchung– 98.14 88.33Tuensang-Mon

37. Uttara- Heritage Development of Kumaon Region – 76.32 67.62khand circuit Katarmal –Jogeshwar-Baijnath-

Devidhura.

38. Jammu & Himalayan Integrated Development of Tourist 84.46 67.35Kashmir Circuit Facilities at Jammu-Rajouri-Shopian-

Pulwama

39. Jammu & Himalayan Integrated Development of Tourist 90.43 74.70Kashmir Circuit Facilities under the Construction of

Assets in lieu of those Destroyed inFloods in 2014 under PMDevelopment Package for J&K

40. Jammu & Himalayan Integrated Development of Tourist 90.85 75.11Kashmir Circuit facilities at Mantalai & Sudhmahadev

41. Jammu & Himalayan Integrated Development of Tourist 87.44 69.96Kashmir Circuit Facilities at Anantnag- Kishtwar-

Pahalgam – Daksum – RanjitSagarDam.

42. Jammu & Himalayan Integrated Development of Tourist 96.93 48.46Kashmir Circuit Facilities at Gulmarg-Baramulla-

Kupwara-Leh

43. Uttar Buddhist Development of Srawasti, 99.97 72.56Pradesh Circuit Kushinagar, & Kapilvastu.

44. Uttar Ramayana Development of Chitrakoot and 69.45 64.09Pradesh Circuit Shringverpur



45. Andaman & Coastal Development of Long Island-Ross 26.91 11.78Nicobar Circuit Smith Island- Neil Island- HavelockIslands Island- Baratang Island-Port Blair.

46. Tamil Nadu Coastal Development of Chennai- 72.26 68.60Circuit Mamamallapuram – Rameshwaram –

Kulasekaranpattinam – Kanyakumari

47. Uttar Spiritual Development of Shahjahanpur- 65.61 62.33Pradesh Circuit Basti- Ahar-Aligharh-Kasgunj-

S a r o s i - P r a t a p g a r h - U n n a o -Kaushambi- Mirzapur-Gorakpur-Kairana- Doamriyagunj- Bagpat-Barabanki- Azamgarh

48. Uttar Spiritual –II Development of Bijnor- Meerut- 67.51 64.14Pradesh Circuit Kanpur- Kanpur Dehat- Banda-

Ghazipur- Salempur- Ghosi- Balia-Ambedkar Nagar- Aligarh-Fatehpur- Deoria- Mahoba-Sonbhadra- Chandauli- Mishrikh-Bhadohi

49. Uttar Heritage Development of Kalinjar Fort 33.17 26.54Pradesh Circuit (Banda)- MarharDham (SantKabir

Nagar)- ChauriChaura, ShaheedSthal (Fatehpur)- MavaharSthal(Ghosi)- Shaheed Smarak (Meerut)

50. Bihar Buddhist Construction of Convention Centre 98.73 78.91Circuit at Bodhgaya

51. Assam Heritage Development of Tezpur – Majuli – 90.98 72.78Circuit Sibsagar

52. Himachal Himalayan Integrated Development of 80.69 59.85Pradesh Circuit Himalayan Circuit in Kiarighat,

Shimla, Hatkoti, Manali, Kangra,Dharamshala, Bir, Palampur,Chamba

53. Mizoram Eco Circuit Development of Eco-Adventure 99.07 49.53Circuit at Aizawl -Rawpuichhip -Khawhphawp - Lengpui – Durtlang-Chatlang- Sakawrhmuituaitlang - Muthee – Beratlawng -Tuirial Airfield– Hmuifang

54. Rajasthan Spiritual Development of Churu (Salasar 93.90 68.24Circuit Balaji)– Jaipur (Shri Samode Balaji,

Ghatke Balaji, Bandheke Balaji)-Alwar (Pandupole Hanumanji,Bharathari)- Viratnagar (Bijak,



Jainnasiya, Ambika Temple)-Bharatpur (Kaman Region)- Dholpur(Muchkund) – MehandipurBalaji-Chittorgarh (Sanwaliyaji)

55. Gujarat Heritage Development of Vadnagar- Modhera 91.42 85.06Circuit and Patan

Total of 2016-17 2871.09 2286.13

Year 2017-18

56. Bihar Rural Circuit Development of Gandhi Circuit: 44.65 22.33Bhitiharwa- Chandrahia- Turkaulia

57. Goa Coastal Development of Rua De Orum 99.35 79.48Circuit Creek - Don Paula -Colva - Benaulim

58. Gujarat Buddhist Development of Junagadh- Gir 28.67 19.21circuit Somnath- Bharuch-Kutch-

Bhavnagar- Rajkot- Mehsana

59. Puducherry Heritage Development of Franco- Tamil 66.35 33.17Circuit Village, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam

60. Puducherry Spiritual Development of Karaikal, Yanam 40.68 30.94Circuit and Puducherry

61. Rajasthan Heritage Development of Rajsamand 90.92 49.8Circuit (Kumbhalgarh Fort) - Jaipur

(Nahargarh Fort)- Alwar (BalaQuila)– Sawai Madhopur(Ranthambore Fort and KhandarFort)– Jhalawar (Gagron Fort)–Chittorgarh (Chittorgarh Fort)Jaisalmer ( JaisalmerFort)Hanumangarh (Kalibangan,Bhatner Fort and Gogamedi)- Jalore( Jalore Fort)- Udaipur (PratapGaurav Kendra)- Dholpur (Bagh-i-Nilofar and PuraniChawni)–Nagaur (Meera Bai Smarak)

62. Telangana Heritage Development of Heritage Circuit: 96.90 70.61Circuit QutubShahi Heritage Park- Paigah

Tombs- Hayat Bakshi Mosque-Raymond’s Tomb

63. Bihar Spiritual Development of Mandar Hill & 47.52 38.02Circuit Ang Pradesh

64. Madhya Eco Circuit Development of Gandhisagar Dam- 94.61 79.70Pradesh Mandleshwar Dam- Omkareshwar

Dam- Indira Sagar Dam- TawaDam- Bargi Dam- BhedaGhat-Bansagar Dam- Ken River.



65. Uttar Ramayana Development of Ayodhya. 127.21 106.64Pradesh Circuit

66. Andhra Buddhist Development of Buddhist Circuit: 52.34 26.17Pradesh Circuit S h a l i h u n d a m - T h o t l a k o n d a -

Bavikonda- Bojjanakonda- Amravati-Anupu in Andhra Pradesh under thetheme of Buddhist Circuit of SwadeshDarshan Scheme.

Total of 2017-18 789.20 556.07

Year 2018-19

67. Maharashtra Spiritual Development of Waki- Adasa- 54.01 16.67Circuit Dhapewada- Paradsingha- Chota Taj

Bagh- Telankhandi- Girad

68. — Development Development of Wayside Amenities 17.93 12.29of Wayside in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar atAmenities Varanasi-Gaya; Lucknow-Ayodhya-

Lucknow; Gorakhpur-Kushinagar;Kushinagar-Gaya- Kushinaga incollaboration with MoRTH

(Sub- Scheme)

69. Uttar Spiritual Development of Jewar-Dadri- 12.03 6.33Pradesh Circuit Sikandrabad-Noida-Khurja-Banda.

70. Jharkhand Eco Circuit Development of Dalma- Chandil- 52.72 15.07Getalsud- BetlaNational park-Mirchaiya–Netarhat.

71. Tripura North East Development of SurmaCherra- 65.00 0.00circuit Unakoti- Jampui Hills - Gunabati-

Bhunaneshwari- Matabari-Neermahal- Boxanagar-Chottakhola- Pilak- Avangchaarra

72. Punjab Heritage Development of Anandpur Sahib – 91.55 23.83 Circuit Fatehgarh Sahib – Chamkaur Sahib

– Ferozpur – Amritsar – KhatkarKalan – Kalanour - Patiala

73. Kerala Spiritual Development Sivagiri Sree 69.47 0.00Circuit Narayana Guru Ashram-

Arruvipuram- Kunnumpara SreeSubrahmania- ChembazhanthiSree Narayana Gurukulam

74. Kerala Rural Development of Malanad Malabar 80.37 23.77Circuit Cruise Tourism Project



75. Meghalaya North East Development of West Khasi Hills 84.97 25.49 Circuit (Nongkhlaw- KremTirot - Khudoi &

Kohmang Falls – Khri River-Mawthadraishan, Shillon), JaintiaHills (Krang Suri Falls- Shyrmang-Iooksi), Garo Hills (Nokrek Reserve,KattaBeel, Siju Caves)

76. Uttar Spiritual Development of Gorakhnath 15.76 9.46Pradesh Circuit Temple (Gorakhpur), Devipattan

Temple (Balrampur) and VatvashniTemple (Domariyaganj)

Total of 2018-19 543.81 132.91

GRAND TOTAL TILL 31.12.2020 5684.67 4278.88

Jabalpur, Dhuandhar Falls



Details of Amount released under PRASHAD Scheme during Jan.-Dec. 2020

(in Rs. Crore)

Sl. Name of the project with State AmouontNo Release

1 Development of Omkareshwar, MP 4.21

2 Development of Varanasi Phase II, UP 4.72

3 Development of Somnath Promenade, Gujarat 7.28

4 Development of Cruise Tourism at River Ganga, Varanasi, UP 3.43

5 Development of Kamakhya under PRASHAD Scheme, Assam 2.54

6 Development of Somnath Promenade, Gujarat 2.30

7 Somnath Promenade Remaining part of 3rd instalment 1.57

8 Development of Varanasi Phase II, UP 8.59

9 Development of Hazratbal Shrine at Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir 1.95

10 Developemnt of Velankanni, Tamil Nadu 0.38

11 Development of Nada Saheb and Maa Mansha Devi Temple, Haryana 7.67

12 Development of Pilgrimage Amenities at Somnath 10.10

13 Developent of Govardhan, UP 6.45

14 Development of Omkareshwar, MP 3.33

15 Development of Amaravari, Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh 5.08

16 Development of Kanchivaram, Tamil Nadu 0.81

17 Development of Baba Baidyanathji Dham, Jharkhand 9.00

18 Development of Pilgrimage Facilitation at Nagaland 5.95

19 Development of Badrinath Ji, Uttarakhand 9.02

20 Development of Govardhan, UP 7.64

21 Developemnt of Nada Saheb and Maa Mansha Devi Temple Haryana 6.22

22 Development of Pilgrimage Facilitation at Meghalaya 6.53

Total 114.78



Details of Amount released under Central Agencies Scheme in the year 2020

(Rs. in Crore)

Sl. Name of Projects Agency AmountNo. released

2019-20

1 Restoration/Renovation of Jallianwala Bagh ASI 5.12Memorial’ at Amritsar, Punjab (Other Charges)

2 Construction of Interpretation Centre at the Aga Khan 0.96World Heritage Site of Humayun’s Tomb, FoundationNew Delhi

2020-21

1 CFA for Development of Jetties at nine (09) main IWAI 7.00points of embarkation/disembarkation of RiverCruise on National Water ways No. 1& 2 (2019-20)

2 Upgrading of Berths and Backup Area of Cochin Port Trust 2.00Ernakulam Wharf (2016-17)

3 Restoration/Renovation of Jallianwala Bagh ASI 1.95Memorial’ at Amritsar, Punjab

4 Restoration/Renovation of Jallianwala Bagh ASI 1.60Memorial’ at Amritsar, Punjab

5 CFA for Creation of additional tourism facilities Cochin Port Trust 1.39at the Cochin Port Trust Walkway.

6 Developing infrastructure at Cochin Port Cruise Cochin Port Trust 0.19Terminal at Cochin Port Trust

7 Proposal for Tourism Infrastructure at Beltaal Lake, ITDC 10.08Damoh, Madhya Pradesh by ITDC

8 Upgrading of Berths and Backup Area of Cochi Port trust 2.28Ernakulam Wharf (2016-17)

9 Sound & Light Show at Leh, Ladakh & Water ITDC 5.16Screen Projection Multimedia Show at TouristFacilitation Centre, Kargil, Ladakh

10 Project for Infrastructural Development at JCP Attari BSF 2.04

Total 39.77



Details of Amount released under Fairs & Festival of DPPH Scheme in the year 2020

(in Rs. Crore)

Sl. Name of Name of Festivals AmountNo. States released

2019-20

1 Punjab CFA for organizing Holla Mohala at 0.25Sri Anandpur Sahib

2 Chhattisgarh CFA for organizing National Tribal 0.20Dance Festival

3 Uttarakhand CFA for organizing Tehri Lake Festival 0.25

2020-21

1 Madhya Pradesh Baiga Olympic 0.20

2 Mizoram Anthurium Festival & 0.25Winter Festival 0.25

3 Sikkim Red Panda Festival, Jorethang Maghey Mela 0.50and Pelling Winter Tourismn Festival

Total 1.90



A. Completed Surveys/Studies ofMinistry of Tourism Completedduring Jan. 20 to Dec. 2020

i. A study “to assess Employment leveland Skill gap in Hospitality and AlliedSectors”.

ii. Evaluation of scheme of MR-PS

iii. 3rd Tourism Satellite Account of India.

iv. Regional Tourism Satellite Account forStates/UTs

B. Ongoing Surveys/Studies ofMinistry of Tourism 2020-21

i. Study on Capacity Building for Data onDomestic and Foreign Tourist Visitors/Visits in the States/UTs”

ii. Study on Culinary Heritage ofHimalayas

iii. Study on ‘Analyzing Recent Trends inVisitor Arrivals to Centrally ProtectedMonuments in India’

iv. Study on” Assessing Impact of taxation/incentives on accommodation tariffs ofthe hotel industry in India vis-à-vis othercountries

v. Study on Role of Luxury Tourist Trainin Promoting Tourism in India

vi. Study on “Analysis & development ofaction plan based on world economicforum ranking system for Travel &Tourism competitiveness for India”

C. Ongoing CFA of Ministry ofTourism 2020-21

i. CFA to University of Petroleum &Energy Studies (UPES) , Uttrakhand fororganizing a two days’ conference“Resumption of Indian TourismIndustry in New Normal-Events”during 28th-29th January 2021.

ii. CFA to Financial Support for AnnualTourism Research Journal of IHM Pusa.

iii. CFA to “Inventorisation & Prioritizationsof Potential World Heritage Sites inMadhya Pradesh Under MR-PS inMOT.

iv. CFA for “Feaibility study for listing ofBhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Chanderi inUnesco Creative cilties Network “ UnderMarket Resources Professional Scheme(MR-PS) in MoT.

v. CFA to North Eastern Hill University fororganizing Global Hospitality andTourism conference during 18th, 19th and20Th March 2021.

D. Completed Central FinancialAssistance (CFA) Sanctioned toCentral Universities, Institutes ofHotel Management under MOT,Indian Institutes of Travel andTourism Management etc during2020-21 for Meeting /Conferences/Seminars/ Workshops/etc.organized for the purpose of gettinginputs from experts, stateGovernment, Industry, Intellectuals,etc for development of Tourism

i. CFA to IHM Bhubanerswar CentralFinancial Assistance CFA to IHMBhubaneswar for organizing a twodays’National conference on“Entrepreneurship in Hospitality &Tourism Industry : Emerging Trends &Challenges” during 14-15 Feb 2020.

ii. CFA to IHM, Bhopal seeking CentralFinancial Assistance (CFA) forconducting International conference onGen-Next Hospitality-Future Trends inHospitality Industry: New age hotelsand alternative accommodation during17-18 January, 2020.

Annexure-V


Documents

English AR 20-21 - Ministry of Tourism...the point of view of suitability for international tourists, Ministry of Tourism classifies hotels under the star rating system. Under this