STATE

Jammu & Kashmir receives 1.62 crore tourist from Jan to Sep 2022

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The Department of Tourism, Government of Jammu & Kashmir has revealed that the territory has received the highest number of tourists in an annual year since independence. From January to September 2022, 1.62 crore tourists have visited the region which is a remarkable achievement especially after the pandemic. A press communiqué released by the Department of Tourism suggests that tourism and hospitality sector which is the biggest source of employment in the territory, has generated maximum number of employment in various regions of Jammu and Kashmir including Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir Valley. Since a record number of tourists have visited the state in just nine months, which happened almost after a decades, is seems like the return of the golden era of Kashmir tourism. However, it was not an easy task to attract such a huge number especially post pandemic Covid-19. The record number of tourists, who visited the region this year, testify to the overall development and change that has taken place in the Union Territory. Despite setbacks faced due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the UT administration has taken sufficient steps for the revival of tourism in the region, and providing employment to individuals associated with the sector. A number of policy interventions have been made to provide financial support to various stakeholders associated with the tourism sector. A comprehensive Film Policy was launched to attract filmmakers for shooting after decades and within a year of notification of this policy, as many as 140 shooting permissions for films and web series have been issued. Soon, a film studio will be launched with state-of-art facilities. Apart from that, various other models and schemes are also being launched to promote tourism and hospitality across the region. Not only that, almost 75 offbeat tourist destinations are also being developed in Jammu and Kashmir as part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations.

The recent development in aviation sector - launch of a direct flight from Srinagar to Sharjah, is another milestone which people were demanding for the last 70 years. The flight operation is expected to bring in a large number of international tourists as well.

SEPC organises conclave to sketch out framework for tourism industry’s growth

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The core objective of the event was to organise deliberations amongst shareholders and energise the businesses in all aspects of travel, tourism and hospitality to chalk out an action plan as envisaged in the Draft Tourism Policy (DTP). While addressing the delegates at the ‘Hospitality & Tourism Conclave’ organised by Services and Export Promotion Council (SEPC), Chief Guest at the event, Arvind Singh, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India said, “Travel & tourism is one of the leading sectors of the country. The tourism policy has been drafted in consultation with the center ministry, state ministries, stake holders etc to draft a proposition that will help in strengthening tourism and the development of sub-sectors as well.” “Infrastructure development, connectivity, brand building and taxation and visa policies will also be looked into to increase engagement and reach the 1 trillion-dollar economy goal,” Singh added. Sharing his insight, Sunil H Talati, Chairman, SEPC said, “The conclave was the coming together of various experts and stakeholders from the industry to add gravitas to the proposed events like ATITHI and strengthen the Travel and Tourism sector in India. It touched upon points for the growth prospects and challenges and the need for a framework to put India on the Global Travel Map.” “The hospitality sector is a sunrise industry with immense potential for growth,” said Karan Rathore, Vice Chairman, SEPC. “It accounts for approximately 50 million jobs in the country and direct foreign investments. Hospitality has been the essence of India. The need of the hour is to position India as a holistic travel and wellness destination and help the tourist traffic reach the projected 13.34 million in 2024,” he added. “Amongst all the sector under SEPC, Travel and Tourism is one of the largest and key sectors. Today, India is the 12th largest country in the world when it comes to international tourism,” informed Dr Abhay Sinha, DG, SEPC. While elaborating further, Dr Abhay said that the mission is to understand what it would take from the council, the stakeholders, and the ministry to go beyond the growth trajectory of the last decade. “The strategy should be about charting the course for this sector for the next 25 years when India will complete 100 years of independence. With perceptual change positioning India as a year around destination, favorable travel policies and aids, infrastructure development, there needs to be a blueprint in place,” he added. SEPC under the Ministry of Commerce is working around the clock to propound innovative ideas to augment inbound tourism and accelerate engagement with the travel and tourism trade industry. The Hospitality and Tourism Conclave was an effort in this similar vein.

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu stands top two states for FTA’s in 2021

Southern Travels unveils new brand identity at 50th anniversary celebration

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The Union Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has released the ‘India Tourism Statistics 2022’. The ITS 2022 was released by the Vice President, Jagdeep Dhankhar on the occasion of World Tourism Day celebration at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. ITS 2022 reveals that the State of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have registered the most number of foreign tourist visits in the year 2021 with 1.26 million and 1.23 million respectively. India ranked 54th in the global Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) in 2021. In the report, Tamil Nadu’s Group of Monuments at Mamallapuram was the most popular centrally protected ticketed monument for domestic visitors in the last one year. Agra’s Taj Mahal also featured among the top ten on the list. The report also stated the number of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTA) during 2021 decreased to 1.52 million – a nearly 44 per cent decline compared to 2020 – citing COVID-19 related restrictions. According to the report, due to restrictions related to COVID-19, the number of foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India during 2021 decreased to 1.52 million as compared to 2.74 million in 2020, registering a negative growth of 44.5 per cent. The report ‘India Tourism Statistics 2022’ also said that arrivals of non-resident Indians (NRI) increased by 52.6 per cent from 2020 to 2021. The United States, Bangladesh, the UK, Canada, Nepal were among the top sources for FTAs which accounted for approximately 80.9 per cent of total foreign tourist arrivals, as per the report. In the domestic tourism graph, 677.63 million tourist visits were registered in 2021 with Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh being the top two destinations. With a contribution of about 5 percent to GDP, the sector created about 79.86 million (direct and indirect) jobs in the country, the report added. The Vice President in his address spoke about the challenges for the tourism industry that emerged due to COVID-19 and said the last two years were ‘very tough’. However, in retrospect, one can say that India knows the way, and the country is ‘out of the difficult period’, he said. During the event, Vice President presented the National Tourism Awards 2018-19. The annual ceremony had been put on hold on account of the COVID-19 outbreak.

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While celebrating the remarkable journey of five decades, Southern Travels - one of the prominent companies in tourism & hospitality sector, got its new ‘Brand Logo’ and the ‘Golden Jublee’ celebration unveiled by the Union Minister of Tourism and Culture, Government of India, G Kishan Reddy in the august presence of the prominent industry stakeholders at The Lalit in New Delhi. While addressing the industry stakeholders the Minister of Tourism said, “Today, I am delighted to manifest and comprehend the contribution of Sothern Travels to travel and tourism in South India. Indeed, both have a golden history, a history based on commitments made with people, culture, and time.” “50 years of excellent services, recipient of National Award eight times in a row, and the privilege of representing the country at WTM, ITB Berlin, ICCA, ATM, TANA and other events of international repute is the outcome of company’s staunch leadership, guided by ethical values embedded in Indian culture, has made this possible,” added G Kishan Reddy. Elaborating on the future plans of the company, Managing Director of Southern Travels, A Krishna Mohan said. “The company is poised to embark on overseas destinations with ambitious plans and viable strategies to exhibit India’s global vision – from South India to South East Asia by 2024 and gradually into other continents. Presently, the company owns 11 offices across India with a fleet of its own vehicles and caters to over 1.5 Lakhs tourists every year.” On this occasion, in his presence, Southern Travels announced that it is the first company to have been awarded 18 rooms and 36 dormitory beds facility at the Kashi Vishwanath temple premises. “This achievement makes Southern Travels a distinguished player in India’s tourism industry. This will certainly boost the traffic and allow senior citizens and NRIs to experience the Darshan from very closer quarters and comfortably,” added A Krishna Mohan. Briefing the journey of Southern Travels Jatinder Paul Singh, CEO of Southern Travels said, “The leadership and acumen of Shri Alapati Venkateswara Rao ji have been a source of inspiration to many budding entrepreneurs in this field. The journey is not yet over; of course, we have passed a milestone, but we will continue our journey to spread our wings all over the globe.”