MOT keeps busy with schemes

MOT’s Incredible India Tourism Facilitator Certification (IITFC) will launch in the first week of January 2020, and registration for the same would begin from the last week of December.

Nisha Verma

Meenakshi Sharma, Director General, Tourism, Government of India, recently addressed PATA India Chapter members at their eighth Outlook & Update Meeting, where she shared details of the initiatives taken by MOT. Calling it a much-needed event, Sharma said that they have a partnership with the industry and through this meeting, the ministry could update them, take their suggestions, and move forward. “With this meeting, we could create a dialogue between us. We got a heart-warming response and suggestions were made, which were taken positively,” she said.

Sharma revealed that the Incredible India Tourism Facilitator Certification (IITFC) programme will finally be launched in the first week of January 2020. She said, “The Tourism Facilitator scheme came up last year as a thought process and had the approval of the authorities. We are ready to launch the scheme and hopefully by first week of January it will be out. Registrations would begin in last week of December 2019.”

Talking about the Incredible India website, she informed, “The website is already in English and Hindi. We are going to translate it into multiple foreign languages – Chinese, Arabic, German and French. We are also going to expand a lot of content through user-generated content. There is a lot of emphasis on social media. We will collaborate with state governments and other partners who can create content for us.” Regarding Adopt a Heritage scheme, she said that it is ongoing, and they keep receiving letters of intent from various companies. “We keep working with various partners. As and when the process is complete, the decision is taken for giving the mandate for the upkeep of the respective monuments,” Sharma shared.