Lok Sabha Question No. 1163 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-02-11
Subject: Collaboration with ASEAN Countries
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: ASHOK SHANKARRAO CHAVAN, VIJAY KUMAR S.R., GAJANAN CHANDRAKANT KIRTIKAR, SUDHEER GUPTA, KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH, T. RADHAKRISHNAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1163 ANSWERED ON 11.02.2019

## COLLABORATION WITH ASEAN COUNTRIES

## 1163. SHRI ASHOK SHANKARRAO CHAVAN:

SHRI S.R. VIJAYAKUMAR:

SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR:

SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:

KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH:

SHRI T. RADHAKRISHNAN:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  collaborate  with  the Association  of  Southeast  Asian  Nation  (ASEAN)  countries  to strengthen cooperation in the field of Tourism;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof along with the terms and conditions thereto;
- (c) whether Indian tourism has grown after the collaboration with ASEAN countries and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the  obstacles  that  prevent  India  from  taking  transnational tourism  venture  along  with  the  corrective  steps  taken/being taken in this regard;
- (e) whether the Government has launched the ASEAN-India Tourism Cooperation year 2019 to enhance cooperation with a view to increasing two-way  tourist visits and promoting greater people to people exchange between ASEAN countries and India; and
- (f) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  other  measures taken/being taken  by  the  Government  to  enhance  the  tourism  in  the country?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR TOURISM (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) (SHRI K.J. ALPHONS)

(a) to (f): The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has signed a  Memorandum  of  Understanding  (MoU)  with  the  Governments  of member states of Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)

on  strengthening  tourism  cooperation  on  12.01.2012.  Under  the framework  of  this  MoU,  the  Ministry  of  Tourism  participates  in Tourism Working Group meetings to take forward the cooperation in the  field  of  tourism  between  India  and  ASEAN.  The  main  areas  of cooperation under the said MoU are as following:

- (i) Sharing best practices for the development of sustainable  tourism,  sharing  resources  and  facilities  in order to provide mutual assistance in tourism education and training for quality tourism development.
- (ii) Support and encourage  the participation of tourism stakeholders  in  travel  marts,  tourism  exhibitions  and festivals, joint tourism marketing and promotional activities.
- (iii) Promote and facilitate the undertaking of tourism-related projects  or  activities,  travel  and  tourism  between  the India - ASEAN through joint promotion and tour packages etc., co-operation among the National Tourism Organisations of ASEAN  and  India  and  the tourism industry, particularly travel agencies and tour operators, airlines, hotels and resorts.
- (iv) Exchange information pertaining to statistics and development  strategies,  investment  opportunities  and economic data in tourism, travel and hospitality sectors relevant to each other.
- (v) Jointly  organise  seminars,  workshops  and  meetings  to exploring and discussing new opportunities and avenues for the development and promotion of tourism.

There  has  been  a  growth  in  the  foreign  tourist  arrivals  from ASEAN member countries. In the last five years following number of tourists have visited India from the ASEAN region -

|   2014 |   2015 |   2016 |   2017 |   2018* |
|--------|--------|--------|--------|---------|
| 685805 | 700298 | 745868 | 824575 |  886466 |

## *Provisional

To  promote  people  to  people,  contact  and  to  strengthen tourism cooperation with ASEAN  region ASEAN-India Year of Tourism  2019  was  launched  during  the  seventh  ASEAN  India Tourism Ministers meeting held on 18.01.2019 at Ha Long, Vietnam. To promote tourism between India and ASEAN region a calendar of activities  was  also  shared  with  ASEAN.  As  a  part  of  ASEAN  India year of Tourism the Ministry of Tourism has already participated/organised the following activities -

- i) Participated  in  TRAVEX  Fair  at  Ha  Long,  Vietnam  from 16-18 January 2019.
2. ii) Highlighted  ASEAN  India  Tourism  Year  2019  at  SATTE 2019  in  India  Pavilion  in  New  Delhi  from16-18  January 2019.
3. iii) Participated in the 2 nd  ASEAN-India Youth Summit held in Guwahati from 03-07 February 2019.

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