TravTalk India Online Magazine
The Ministry of Tourism, working with a ‘360-degree perspective’ to develop tourism in the country, organised the National Tourism Awards 2018-19 in New Delhi on World Tourism Day, where the India Tourism Statistics 2022, New Incredible India Global Promotional Films, and ‘GoBeyond:75 Experiences of North India’ were released.
Janice Alyosius
The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, organised the National Tourism Awards 2018-19 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi recently. The awards, organised after a two-year hiatus, coincided with the World Tourism Day.
Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar presented the tourism awards to persons from the industry for their outstanding contribution. G. Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism, Culture and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER); Ajay Bhatt, Minister of State for Defence and Tourism; Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism, and other senior officers of the Tourism Ministry were present on this occasion.
A total of 81 awards were given away this year highlighting the achievements of the industry in 2018-19. The Vice President also released India Tourism Statistics 2022, New Incredible India Global Promotional Films, and ‘GoBeyond:75 Experiences of North India’ e-book on the occasion.
In his keynote address, Dankhar described India as a “heaven for tourism” and urged Indians to explore domestic tourist destinations first before embarking on international travel. Referring to the long history of civilisation and rich cultural heritage of Bharat, he emphasised that most of the tourist attractions of the country have a deep connect with our history, folk arts and ancient texts. He termed tourism as a key driver of economic growth and employment generation in the country.
Referring to various aspects of tourism, the Vice President stressed on the need to fully utilize India’s potential in medical tourism and the growing global interest in the country’s ancient healing practices like Ayurveda and Yoga.
Acknowledging the government’s efforts in developing the tourism sector in the country, Dhanhar said the development of tourism infrastructure has been accompanied by innovative initiatives like Dekho Apna Desh and Utsav Portal.
Speaking on the occasion, G. Kishan Reddy said that India’s Tourism sector is moving towards creative, responsible, and inclusive growth. The Ministry of Tourism is working with a 360-degree perspective and a whole of government approach for the development of the tourism sector.
He said that India plans to position itself as a major tourism destination during its G20 Presidency for 2023. “During the Presidency, we aim to showcase India as a ‘must-visit’ destination at a global level. 3600 railway coaches have been allocated for tourism purposes for Circuit specific trains. Such trains have already started for Ramayana and Buddhist Circuits, while the one for Krishna Circuit will start soon. Our aim is to make India one of the most prominent destinations of the world,” Reddy said. He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working as the brand ambassador of Indian tourism.
Ajay Bhatt congratulated the awardees and said that the MOT has prepared a draft of the National Tourism Policy-2022 as part of New India’s vision of high growth and prosperity. “The policy aims at improving framework conditions for tourism development in the country, supporting tourism industries, strengthening tourism support functions, and developing tourism sub-sectors,” he said.
Earlier, during his welcome speech, Arvind Singh said, “Travel & Tourism is one of the world’s largest economic sectors, creating export and prosperity around the world. India’s tourism sector has emerged as one of the key drivers of India’s post-Covid economic growth,” he said.
He further spoke about the recently revamped Swadesh Darshan programme that was re-launched to develop sustainable and responsible tourism destinations.
