Lok Sabha Question No. 2551 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-14
Subject: Role of Tourism in Sustaining Economy
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: RAHUL KASWAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.†2551

## LOK SABHA ANSWERED ON 14.03.2016

## ROLE OF TOURISM IN SUSTAINING ECONOMY

## †2551. SHRI RAHUL KASWAN:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) whether a decline has been registered in the tourism industry during the last three years;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
- (c) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  promote  the  tourism industry?

## ANSWER

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

- (a): No,  Madam.  The  Foreign  Tourist  Arrivals  (FTAs)  in  India  has shown continuous increase in last three years. The number of FTAs in India during 2013, 2014 and 2015 were 6.97 million, 7.68 million and 8.03 million, respectively.
- (b): Does not arise.
- (c): Various  initiatives  undertaken  by  the  Ministry of  Tourism  for promoting tourism are as below:
- i. Multilingual Tourist Infoline:

The Ministry of Tourism has launched the 24x7 Toll Free MultiLingual Tourist Info Line on 8.2.2016. The languages handled by the contact centers include ten International languages besides English and  Hindi,  namely,  Arabic,  French,  German,  Italian,  Japanese, Korean,  Chinese,  Portuguese,  Russian  and  Spanish.  The  multilingual  helpdesk  in  the  designated  languages  provides  support service  in  terms  of  providing  information  relating  to  Travel  & Tourism in India and assist the callers with advice on action to be taken during times of distress while travelling in India and if need

be alert the concerned authorities.

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

The Government of India has introduced the facility of e-TV for the citizens of 150 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  fees  by grouping  them  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. TV fee. During 2015, a total of 4,45,300 e-TV holders visited India

Bank charges have also been reduced from US$2 to 2.5 % of the eindicating the success of the new online process.

## iii. Publicity and Promotion:

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

## iv. Central Financial Assistance (CFA):

Ministry of Tourism (MoT) operates various schemes through which Central Financial Assistance (CFA) is provided to States/UTs for overall development and promotion of tourism.

MoT has launched following two 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.  Thirteen  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,  Ramayana Circuit  and  Heritage  Circuit  have  been  identified  for  development under this Scheme.

National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD):

This  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. Cities namely Amritsar, Kedarnath, Ajmer,  Mathura,  Varanasi,  Gaya,  Puri,  Dwarka,  Amaravati, Kanchipuram,  Vellankanni,  Kamakhya  and  Patna  have  been identified for infrastructure development under the scheme.

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