TravTalk India Online Magazine
Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism, reveals that a national conference of tourism ministers will be organised in July with an aim to promote both domestic and international tourism.
Nisha Verma
Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, speaking at the International Day of Yoga celebrations in Hyderabad, shared that a national conference of all the tourism ministers will be held next month to promote India as an important destination to the rest of the world. “In July, we will have a national conference of tourism ministers. Location is yet to be decided. The agenda will be how to project India and the states to different parts of the world to attract both domestic and international tourists in the years to come,” he shared.
Popularity of yoga
Singh said that the popularity of yoga is increasing. “This year was significant because it was the first mass Yoga Day event after the pandemic. It was a kind of reaffirmation of the importance of yoga in our everyday health practice, which the world itself has realised. Thus, the message of the importance of yoga for keeping one’s own health and the practice of yoga, especially in the context of the pandemic, has gone down very well.”
Grand India celebrations
He highlighted that the IDY 2022 event was not just celebrated in Hyderabad, but at 75 different locations in the country. “These are important places that are associated with our culture and heritage. With these places, we are trying to highlight the importance of yoga, culture and heritage of our country. Hence, in this regard, it has gone off as a very successful event because it was the first time that this message of health has been spread after the pandemic.”
On IDY celebrations being organised around the world by Indian missions, Singh said, “Especially after the pandemic, the importance of India as a wellness centre has gone up. People were traditionally coming to India for wellness tourism, including yoga and other such practices. Especially after the pandemic, they will be more interested in travelling for wellness tourism, and India has a bouquet of services to offer in wellness—be it Ayurveda, Panchkarma, Yoga and various aspects of wellness. I think it will help raise awareness about the opportunities that India offers,” he claimed.
Work on Ayush Visa
Commenting on the work towards speeding up Ayush visa, Singh explained, “Any step needed to facilitate tourism, we always work in collaboration with other ministries. It is the whole government’s approach and we will take any other step that is needed to facilitate tourism by way of facilitating visas. E-visas are a case in point where we significantly facilitated tourism for India.” However, he added that it is still “too early” to say how soon Ayush visa will be a reality, but he will have a discussion with the Home Ministry.
Tourism’s contribution to GDP
He said, “The WTTC projections are that one in three jobs in the future will be created in tourism and the tourism GDP is expected to grow by a significant amount in the future. Hence, we can capture a part of that business.”
Steps beyond promotions
India was climbing the ladder in terms of tourist arrivals, but post Covid, it has taken a huge hit. Now with borders opening and MOT already planning promotions, is there a need for other initiatives like travel insurance? Singh answered saying, “There is discussion going on for travel insurance. Another major step was significant – expansion of the vaccination programme that has reached all the states. This gives tourists a sense of safety and we will be promoting our wellness destinations and the fact that India offers a safe destination as well as safety of all class of travellers, be it women, old, or those who are looking for a wellness getaway offering a rich and rejuvenating experience in India. Apart from the promotions and publicity, there will be steps that we will be discussing with the states at the proposed conference about the measures to attract more domestic as well as International tourists.”
Trade engagement
In terms of working with the trade, Singh elucidated, “We are in dialogue with the travel industry. Throughout the pandemic, we took measures to help restructure the loans. We took steps to provide easy credit to travel agents, guides and other stakeholders of industry, including commercial establishments. Also, we always discuss with them to evaluate how these measures are working and we will be continuing the dialogue to see how we can make measures more effective. Already, some states have started giving industry status. It is a step in the right direction. We are encouraging the states to reduce the compliance burden on the hospitality industry.
