Lok Sabha Question No. 1184 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-06
Subject: Identification of Tourist Spots in Karnataka for Promotion of Tourism
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: Annasaheb Shankar Jolle, Devendrappa Y, Umesh G. Jadhav, L.S. Tejasvi Surya, B. Y. Raghavendra, Prathap Simha, Sanganna Amarappa Karadi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1184

## ANSWERED ON 06.12.2021

IDENTIFICATION OF TOURIST SPOTS IN KARNATAKA FOR PROMOTION OF TOURISM

1184. SHRI ANNASAHEB SHANKAR JOLLE:

SHRI B.Y. RAGHAVENDRA:

SHRI PRATHAP SIMHA:

SHRI L.S. TEJASVI SURYA:

DR. UMESH G. JADHAV:

SHRI SANGANNA AMARAPPA:

SHRI Y. DEVENDRAPPA:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  revive  foreign  and
- domestic tourism in the country;
- (b)  whether  the  Government  has  identified  any  tourist  spots  for promoting tourism in Karnataka and if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  whether the Government has formulated any special scheme to promote tourism in Karnataka; and
- (d)  the  other  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  boost  tourism sector in the country?

## ANSWER

(SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

## MINISTER OF TOURISM

- (a): The Ministry of Tourism promotes India as a holistic tourism destination  including  the  various  tourism  sites  and  products  of every  State/Union  Territory  of  the  country  in  the  domestic  and international  markets.  Additionally,  the  Ministry  of  Tourism  has taken  following  initiatives  to  promote/revive  foreign  and  domestic tourism in the country:
- i. Market  Development  Assistance  (MDA)  Guidelines  for promotion  of India as a tourism destination in the
- overseas  markets  and  Market  Development  Assistance (MDA) Guidelines for promotion of domestic tourism have been  revised  to  increase  the  scope  and  reach  of  these guidelines to benefit larger number of tourism stakeholders.
- ii. The  Ministry  of  Tourism  had  launched  the  Dekho  Apna Desh initiative,  which  is  being  promoted  extensively  on social media accounts and website of the Ministry and by Domestic  India  Tourism  Offices.  Under  this  initiative Ministry  has  been  organizing  webinars,  quiz,  pledge, discussions,  road  shows  to  keep  connected  with  the stakeholders and to encourage citizens to travel within the  country.  More  than  100  Webinars  under  the  Dekho Apna  Desh  brand  line have  been  organized by the Ministry, since its launch.
- iii. The Ministry of Tourism organizes various activities like road shows, Fam trips, B2B Meetings, Quiz programmes, webinars  between  paired  States/UTs  to  promote  Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat.
- iv. Promotional campaigns are carried out on social media handles of the Ministry and Domestic Offices promoting destinations,  products,  festivals,  cuisines  etc.  of  the country.
- v. The  Ministry of  Tourism  organizes  Bharat  Parv  and Paryatan  Parv  in  collaboration  with  the  States/UTs  and other  Central  Ministries/Departments  for  last  four  years to  showcase  the  rich  culture,  history,  heritage  to  the citizens. The objective of these events is to draw focus on the benefits of Tourism and reinforcing the principle of tourism for all.
- vi. To  create  awareness  among  the  masses  the  Ministry celebrates special events / days with citizen's participation like International Day of Yoga, World Tourism Day, Constitution Day, Independence Day, commemoration of 125 years of Birth of Netaji Subhash Chandra  Bose,  Azadi  Ka  Amrit  Mahotsav  and  other regional festivals.
- vii. The  Ministry  of  Tourism  and  the  Regional  Offices  are regularly  communicating  with  the  Travel  Industry  and other  stakeholders  on  issues  related  to  opening  up  of tourism  sector,  handling  of  tourists,  protocols  of  safety
- and  security,  service  standards  etc.  The  Ministry  has also been coordinating with the Stakeholders and States/UTs for promoting itineraries to nearby destinations from the major cities.
- viii. Ministry  of  Tourism  organized  'Tapping  the  Tourism Potential of Kashmir: Another day in Paradise' event at Srinagar, Kashmir from 11 th -13 th   April  2021  to  showcase Jammu  &  Kashmir  as  a  destination  for  Heritage,  Golf, Cuisine, Adventure, Wedding, etc. Similarly, the Ministry of  Tourism  organised  a  mega  tourism  event  at  Leh, Ladakh titled: 'Ladakh: New Start, New Goals' from 26 th 28 th   August  2021  to  promote  tourism  to  Ladakh  as  a tourist  destination  with  focus  on  aspects  of  adventure, culture and responsible tourism.
- ix. The  Ministry  of  Tourism  in  collaboration  with  IRCTC organized  a  Buddhist  Circuit  Fam  Tour  and  Conference from 4 th  - 8 th  October 2021 at Bodhgaya and Varanasi. The event  was  attended  by  approx.  200  delegates  which included tour operators from other parts of the country, local  tour  operators  and  other  stakeholders  of  tourism sector media, officials of Ministry of Tourism. During the event Ministry also organized an interactive session with students of Nalanda University and BHU.
- x. On  the  occasion  of  the  inauguration  of  the  Kushinagar Airport by the Hon'ble Prime Minister, Ministry of Tourism organized a two-day conference on 'Tourism in Buddhist Circuits  -  A  way  forward'  in  Kushinagar  highlighting Buddhist  Circuit and  its  potential  to  draw  Buddhist pilgrims and scholars around the world.
- xi. Ministry of Tourism organized a meeting of the Tourism & Culture  Ministers  of  the  North  Eastern  States  on  13 th   & 14 th   September  2021  at  Guwahati,  Assam  to  discuss development of tourism  and  connectivity  related  issues in the North Eastern Region.
- xii. Ministry of Tourism organized International Tourism Mart 2021 held at Kohima, Nagaland from 27 th to 29 th November  2021  to  showcase  the  tourism  potential  of
- North Eastern States of India at the international level.
- (b) & (c): Ministry  of  Tourism  promotes  all  tourist  spots  in  the country including Karnataka through its media campaigns,

websites,  road  shows,  social  media  promotions  and  Dekho  Apna Desh  initiative  to  attract  more  tourists.  Ministry  of  Tourism  also organized a Conference of Tourism and Culture Ministers of Southern  Region  on  28th  &  29th  October  2021  at  Bengaluru, Karnataka  with  the  objective  to  discuss  development  of  tourism sector  and  culture  related  issues  in  the  Region.    The  conference was  attended  by  the  Tourism  and  Culture  Ministers  of  Southern Region, Officials from various Central Ministries, State Governments,  Union  Territory  Administrations  (UTs),  Media  and industry stakeholders. The two days' conference had presentations by  various  Central  Ministries,  State  Govts/UTs.    An  interactive session was also held with the local stakeholders to discuss their issues and requirements for promotion of tourism.

Under  the  Adopt  a  Heritage  project,  Ministry  of  Tourism  in collaboration with Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is developing tourist amenities at heritage/tourist sites in a  planned  and  phased  manner  in  partnership  with  private  players. Under the project, following seven (7) Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) have been awarded to Monument Mitras in the State of Karnataka:

- i.   Hampi & Hazara Rama Temple
- ii.   Krishna Temple, Hampi
- iii.   Elephanta Stables, Hampi
- iv.  Pattabhirama Temple, Hampi
- v.   Zenana Enclosure (Lotus Mahal), Hampi
- vi.  Ugra Narsimha Temple, Hampi
- vii.   Badavilinga Temple, Hampi

Under 'Dekho Apna Desh' initiative of the Ministry of Tourism, two  webinars  have  been  conducted  on  Karnataka  titled:  'Mysuru: Craft  Caravan  of  Karnataka'  and  'From  Mysuru  to  Mysore'  to beautiful encourage  citizens and stakeholders to explore the destinations and tourism products of Karnataka.

In  addition,  Ministry  of  Tourism  is  also  focussing  on  the development of tourism related infrastructure under its schemes of Swadesh Darshan and National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) which were launched in January 2015.

(d): The  Ministry  of  Tourism  has  taken  other  steps/initiatives  to boost tourism in the country as per details given below:

- i. 24x7  toll  free  Multi-Lingual  Tourist  Helpline  to  assist tourists.
- ii. Providing  facility  of  e-Visa  for  5  sub-categories  i.e.  eTourist  visa,  e-Business  visa,  e-Medical  visa,  e-Medical Attendant visa and e-Conference visa for nationals of 156 countries.
- iii. Incredible  India  Tourist  Facilitator  Programme,  a  PanIndia digital initiative to provide basic, advanced, spoken foreign  language  and  refresher  courses  for  creating  a pool  of  trained  and  certified  tourist  facilitators  which would help in creating employment opportunities at the local level.
- iv. Conducting Programmes under the 'Capacity Building for Service Providers' (CBSP) Scheme to train and up-grade manpower to provide better service standards.
- v. On  the  recommendation  of  the  Ministry  of  Tourism,  46 tourism  routes  have  been  awarded  to  the  identified airlines by Ministry of Civil Aviation under the RCS UDAN Scheme. 29 of these routes have been operationalized till date.
- vi. National Integrated Database  of Hospitality Industry (NIDHI) Portal to create a comprehensive national database  of  accommodation  units  in  the  country  to  be used for promotion and development of tourism.
- vii. System  for  Assessment,  Awareness  and  Training  for Hospitality  Industry  (SAATHI)  launched  in  association with the Quality Council of India, to sensitize the industry on  the  COVID  regulations  of  the  government  and  instil confidence amongst the staff and guests that the hospitality  unit  has  exhibited  intent  towards  ensuring safety and hygiene at the workplace.
- viii. Government  of  India  has  introduced  "Loan  Guarantee Scheme  for Covid Affected Tourism Service Sector (LGSCATSS)".  Under  this  loan  guarantee  scheme,  loan upto Rs.10.00 lakh is being extended to Tour Operators/ Travel Agents/ Tourist Transport Operators approved/recognized  by  the  Ministry  of  Tourism,  upto

Rs.1.00  lakh  to  Regional  Tourist  Guide/  Incredible  India Tourist  Guide  approved/recognized  by  the  Ministry  of Tourism and Tourist Guides approved/ recognized by the State Govt./ UT Administration.

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