High hopes from domestic biz

Arvind Singh, Secretary Tourism, GoI, while speaking at the IATO convention, acknowledged the UP govt’s support and emphasized on the need to expand the infrastructure given the large tourist influx.

Janice Alyosius

Addressing the 37th IATO Convention in Lucknow, Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism, Government of India, praised the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) for organising the convention. “IATO aims to promote travel and tourism within India and its members have come out in such large numbers to this city, which represents one of the most populous states of the country, Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

Singh acknowledged the UP government’s support for organising the convention. Mentioning the difficulties faced by IATO in finalising the state for hosting the convention, he said, “The (IATO) president was in a state of fix because he was made to run around by several states and possible hosts and UP took the bait. So, I thank Mukesh Meshram (Principal Secretary Tourism & Culture of UP) and the state government of UP for coming forward and supporting the association, because of their efforts the convention is taking place.” He added that tourism is a key contributor to economic activity and when he joined the ministry as the secretary tourism, the country was reeling under the pandemic’s impact. “The Government of India sees tourism as one of the sectors that can bounce back and get jobs and economic opportunities back in the country,” he said.

Singh said that the government is taking a lot of initiatives to revive the industry; one among them is the Mission LiFE.