TravTalk India Online Magazine
Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, has said that India will partially reopen its borders for some regions by the end of 2021 and that Asia Pacific will be a priority.
Nisha Verma
Stressing on the fact that domestic tourism is growing manifold, Arvind Singh, in conversation with Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA, said that for international tourism, they will be following a gradual approach of opening. However, he indicated that India might open tourist visas first to the Asia Pacific region. “The discussion we have had with Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Home, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and Ministry of Civil Aviation is that they favour a calibrated approach, which means that we open up for certain regions and in that, Asia Pacific ranks high. They feel that the disease is under control in the Asia Pacific region and we might see a partial or some opening of the tourist visas for this region first. Different dates are being discussed and once the vaccination programme establishes itself in the US, Europe and countries in the Western Hemisphere, they would be in the next phase of opening of international tourist visas.” That said, the Secretary added that any discussion regarding opening of land borders with neighbouring countries is definitely not on the cards right now. “For instance, Bangladesh borders are shut and will remain so for some time. However, in terms of opening of air travel and easing of visa restrictions, it is being discussed that either the travellers should have a negative RT-PCR report 72 hours prior to departure or a proof of vaccination,” he shared. And, when Hardy asked if India would open its borders before the end of 2021, Singh affirmed, saying, “Yes, there will be some sort of reopening. It all depends on the result of the vaccination programme in India and abroad. However, I am sure that at least there would be a partial opening to some regions of the world in this calendar year.”
Easier protocols
Sharing how easy it is to abide by the new protocols for international travellers, Singh said, “We have been working on it. As we open for visas and international travel, these procedures would need tweaking because numbers will go up, so testing capacity or processing capacity at the airports will need to be augmented. However, I think our system is ready and we don’t have too many glitches or too much paperwork for inbound travellers.”
Working with PATA
The MOT Secretary also said that they would like to work with PATA in the future. “As we open, especially for international travel, we have to create a sense of confidence among the travellers that all health and safety-related protocols are being followed by all the stakeholders in the tourism industry, be it the airports, taxis, hotels or guides at tourist spots. If there are some protocols or some expectations, we will work together to develop that kind of a message and have it generated throughout the country,” he claimed.
Supporting small business
When asked about supporting smaller business, Singh said that the only answer to that is more tourists.
“Smaller businesses are suffering more. On my recent trip to Kashmir, I saw that the smaller stakeholders are also getting smiles back on their faces because of the growing number of domestic tourists. Essentially, we have seen the rebound in winter season in domestic tourism and if we have a good summer season as well, the pressure and pain on most of the other stakeholders will go down. In addition, we are working with the state governments and Ministry of Finance on lessening the burden on all stakeholders in this system,” he shared.
‘Vaccine is not the only solution’
“Health passports are not only about vaccination. Vaccination is not the only solution for travel recovery. Testing is also here to stay. It’s the combination of both — having the vaccine, having a way or mechanism to be able to track who is being vaccinated, when have you been vaccinated, what type of vaccine you’ve received, etc., and the same thing with testing. This is where the health pass is becoming critical for trans-border travel in the future. My biggest fear or concern is that many countries and even private companies are now starting to create their own mechanisms. It’s important that moving forward, we have one standard protocol across the world for accepting testing. What type of testing is accepted is something that the countries have to decide.”
Swadesh Darshan scheme to be recast
Speaking at the ICC ‘Travel India 2021’, Singh shared that they are revamping the Swadesh Darshan scheme. “We are in the process of recasting the Swadesh Darshan Scheme and we may come out with a refined version shortly. If there are any suggestions by stakeholders for recasting the scheme, we will consider that as well. We have a focus on rural tourism and the Swadesh Darshan scheme has been launched for the integrated theme-based development of tourist circuits. This is aimed at developing tourism infrastructure, including last-mile connectivity in the country,” he said. Singh added that a national tourism award has also been designed in the category of ‘Best Rural Agri Plantation Project’ to motivate stakeholders in the tourism sector for implementing such projects. On the subject of development of tourism-related infrastructure at Buddhist sites, he said, “A total of five projects for an amount of `353.7 crore have been sanctioned for the development of Buddhist sites under the Swadesh Darshan scheme. Projects for development of infrastructure have also been undertaken under the PRASHAD scheme, and a total of 30 projects for an amount of `918 crore have been sanctioned under the PRASHAD scheme.”
