Lok Sabha Question No. 2436 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-14
Subject: Mark by World Travel and Tourism Council
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: DHARMENDRA YADAV, Shrirang Appa Barne, ANANDRAO  ADSUL, SHIVAJI ADHALRAO PATIL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.†2436 ANSWERED ON 14.12.2015

## MARK BY WORLD TRAVEL AND TOURISM COUNCIL

## †2436. SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV:

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

SHRI ANANDRAO ADSUL:

SHRI ADHALRAO PATIL SHIVAJIRAO:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  World  Travel  and  Tourism  Council  has  named India as one of the fastest growing tourism destinations in the next ten years;
- (b)
- if so, the details thereof;
- whether  the  Government  announced  incentives  to  States  for
- (c) development of tourism;
- (d)
- if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  tap  the  sources  of global tourism?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR TOURISM (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) (DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

(a) and (b): Yes,  Madam.    As  per  the  media  reports,  World Travel  and  Tourism  Council  has  stated  that  India's  travel  and tourism economy is due to grow by 7.5 per cent in 2015, which is the  highest  level  of  growth  of  any  of  the  major  economies  in  the world.

(c) and (d): Development and promotion of tourism is primarily the  responsibility  of  the  State  Governments/UT  Administrations. However,  Ministry  of  Tourism  (MOT)  provides  Central  Financial Assistance (CFA) to State Governments/Union Territory

Administrations  for  various  tourism  projects  subject  to  availability of funds, inter-se priority, liquidation of pending utilization certificates against the funds released earlier and adherence to the relevant scheme guidelines.

Recently, Ministry of Tourism has launched following two new schemes for development of tourism in thematic manner:

Swadesh Darshan: Swadesh Darshan was launched for development of theme based tourist circuits in a way that caters to both mass and niche tourism in a holistic manner. Twelve Circuits namely North-East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal  Circuit,  Krishna  Circuit,  Desert  Circuit,  Tribal  Circuit,  Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit and Ramayana Circuit have been identified for development under this Scheme.

National  Mission  on  Pilgrimage  Rejuvenation  and  Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD): This new Scheme has been launched for the development and beautification of pilgrimage sites to tap the growth  of  domestic  tourists  driven  by  religious  sentiments  and  to augment tourism infrastructure at places of pilgrimage   to facilitate pilgrims/tourists. In the first phase, cities namely Amritsar, Kedarnath, Ajmer, Mathura, Varanasi, Gaya, Puri, Dwarka, Amravati, Kanchipuram, Vellankanni, Guwahati and Patna have been identified for infrastructure development.

- (e): Ministry  of  Tourism  has  taken  various  initiatives  to  promote tourism  and  attract  more  tourists  to  India.  Some  of  the  major initiatives are as below:
- i. Publicity and Promotion:

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, promotes India as a holistic destination in the international markets. As part of its promotional activities, the MoT releases campaigns in the international markets  under  the  Incredible India brand-line to showcase  various  tourism  destinations  and  products  including  its cultural heritage.

Moreover, a series of promotional activities are being undertaken in tourist generating markets overseas through the India

Tourism  Offices  abroad  with  the  objective  of  showcasing  India's tourism  potential  and  promoting  tourism  to  the  country.  These promotional  activities include participation in travel fairs  and exhibitions; organising road shows, Know India seminars & workshops;  organizing  and  supporting  Indian  food  and  cultural festivals;  publication  of  brochures,  offering  joint  advertising  and brochure  support,  and  inviting  media  personalities,  tour  operators and  opinion  makers  to  visit  the  country  under  the  Hospitality programme of the Ministry.

The  Ministry of Tourism  provides  financial assistance  to Stakeholders and Tourism Departments of States/Union Territories for undertaking promotional activities under the Marketing Development Assistance (MDA) Scheme.

## ii. e - Tourist Visa (e-TV):

The Government of India has introduced the facility of e-TV for the citizens of 113 countries at 16 airports. Introduction of e-TV is a Path breaking measure by the Government in easing entry formalities in the country.

Government of India has also revised the e-TV fee in four slabs of 0, US$25, US$48 and US$60 from November 3, 2015. Earlier e-TV application  fee  was  US$60  and  bank  charge  as  US$2  which  was uniform for all the countries. The revision of Visa fee has been done on  the  principle  of  reciprocity.  Bank  charges  have  also  been reduced  from  US$2  to  2.5  %  of  the  e-TV  fee.  During  the  period January  to  October,  2015  a  total  of  2,58,182  e-TV  holders  visited India  indicating the success of the new online process.

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