Lok Sabha Question No. 3646 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-21
Subject: Promotion of Tourism Abroad
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: M. K. RAGHAVAN, S.P. MUDDAHANUMEGOWDA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3646 ANSWERED ON 21.12.2015

## PROMOTION OF TOURISM ABROAD

3646. SHRI M.K. RAGHAVAN:

SHRI S.P. MUDDAHANUME GOWDA:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  formulate  any  new policy/programme  with  various  countries  to  promote  tourism between India and these countries to attract foreign tourists;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the salient features and benefits of the programme along with the list of such countries;
- (c) the  details  of  international  events  held  across  the  world  to promote tourism; and
- (d) the  funds  allocated  and  expenditure  incurred  along  with  the revenue  earned  from  such  programmes  during  the  last  five years?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b): The Ministry of Tourism has formulated a draft National Tourism  Policy  2015  with  the  aim  of  positioning  India  as  a  'Must Experience'  and  'Must  Revisit'  destination  for  global  travellers, whilst encouraging Indians to explore their own country and realise the  potential  of  tourism  as  a  major  engine  for  economic  growth, employment  generation  and  poverty  alleviation  in  a  sustainable, responsible  and  inclusive  framework,  to  the  betterment  of  the community.

The draft Policy highlights the significance of International Cooperation  in  the  field  of  tourism  in  building  partnerships,  learning from experiences of countries that have developed strong tourism sectors  and  collaborating  for  mutual  benefit.    It  further  envisions India  playing  a  more  pro-active  and  decisive  role  at  multilateral tourism forums under South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),  India,  Brazil,  South  Africa  (IBSA),  Brazil,  Russia,  India, China, South Africa (BRICS) and others.

(c): The  Ministry  of  Tourism  through  its  14  overseas  offices, regularly organizes/participates in a series of promotional activities/events  in  important  as  well  as  potential  source  markets overseas. Details of major promotional activities undertaken/participated in the year 2015 are annexed.

(d): The  funds allocated and expenditure incurred under the Restructured Scheme of Overseas Promotion & Publicity including Marketing  Development  Assistance  for  the  last  five  years  are  as under:

| Year      |   Funds Allocated in crore (B.E.) |   Funds Allocated in crore (R.E.) | Expenditure (Rs. in crore)   |
|-----------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|------------------------------|
| 2010 - 11 |                               275 |                               250 | 249.02                       |
| 2011 - 12 |                               280 |                               250 | 243.06                       |
| 2012 - 13 |                               267 |                               180 | 182.83                       |
| 2013 - 14 |                               350 |                               216 | 195.36                       |
| 2014 - 15 |                               330 |                               164 | 166.36*                      |

*Provisional

Revenue  earned  by  India  in  the  form  of  foreign  exchange earnings through tourism in the last five years are as under:

|   Year | Earnings through tourism (in Rs. Crore)   |
|--------|-------------------------------------------|
|   2010 | 64,889                                    |
|   2011 | 77,591                                    |
|   2012 | 94,487                                    |
|   2013 | 1,07,671                                  |
|   2014 | 1,23,320                                  |

*********

## ANNEXURE

STATEMENT IN  REPLY  OF  PART  (c) OF  LOK SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3646  ANSWERED  ON 21.12.2015 REGARDING PROMOTION OF TOURISM ABROAD.

## MAJOR ACTIVITIES/EVENTS ORGANISED/PARTICIPATED IN 2015

- a)
- Overseas Promotion:

Major promotional activities undertaken in 2015 include:

-  Participation in International Travel Fairs and Exhibitions: India Tourism offices in overseas markets participated in the major  international  Travel  Fairs  and  Exhibitions  in  important as well as emerging and potential tourist generating markets the  world  over.  These  include  WTM  -  London,  ITB  -  Berlin, FITUR - Madrid, Virtuoso Travel Week - Las Vegas, Hannover Messe, IMEX - Frankfurt, ATM - Dubai, CITM - China amongst others.
-  Road Shows in collaboration with Trade Associations organised in:
-  Australia & New Zealand (Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland)
-  India Medical Tourism Road Shows (Dubai & Muscat)
- 
- USA & Canada (Montreal, Toronto, Chicago & Houston)
- 
- United Kingdom (Glasgow, Leeds, Birmingham & London)
-  Baltic Europe (Latvia, Lithuania and Poland)
-  USA & Canada (Toronto, Vancouver, Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco)
- 
- Europe (Frankfurt, Zurich, Vienna, Rome and Milan)
-  Know India Seminars organized in various countries including Australia, Canada, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Japan.
-  Visit India Year 2015 in China officially launched in Beijing in February 2015.
-  Support extended for India's participation in the Shanghai International Art Festival in November 2015.
-  India has participated as the 'Guest of Honour' country at the  China  International  Tourism  Mart  (CITM)  held  in Kunming, China in November 2015.
-  A  High  Level  India-China  Tourism  Forum  organized  at CITM.
-  Outdoor  cultural  programmes  and  yoga  demonstrations, an  Indian  Street  Food Festival  and  an  Indian  arts  and crafts  exhibition  were  also  organized  in  a  prominent shopping  square  in  Kunming  city,  China  during  CITM 2015.
-  PATA  Travel  Mart  2015  -  Ministry  of  Tourism  has  extended support to the State Government of Karnataka in hosting the PATA Travel Mart 2015.
- DRV  Destination  Forum  2015  -  DRV  Destination  Forum  2015 hosted in India in September 2015. Deutscher Reise Verband (DRV) is the association for all Tour operators, Travel agents and  Associated  in  Germany.  It  is  the  third  largest  travel association in the world. A total of 53 German Tour Operators, 3 German media representatives and 3 DRV officials, including the President of the Association participated in the week long
-  Destination Forum.
-  SITE  Global  Conference  2015  -  The  annual  SITE  (Society  of Incentive Travel Excellence) Global Conference was hosted in India in October 2015. This is the first time that such a major incentive travel industry event was hosted in India. Delegates from 32 countries participated in the Conference.
-  India Tourism Week, Sydney - 'India Tourism Week' organised in Sydney in collaboration with the Indian Mission in Australia in October 2015.
-  Food Festivals:  Support  extended  to  Indian  Food  Festivals  in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Tashkent, Tokyo, Osaka, Madagascar, Ecuador, Ramallah (Palestine), Veracruz (Mexico) and Beirut (Lebanon), by way of sponsoring the visit of Indian Chefs.
-  Festivals  of  India  -  Support  extended  to  Festivals  of  India organised in China, South Africa and Malaysia, through Indian Food Festivals and Outdoor Branding.
- b)
- International Cooperation:
- I. MoUs/Agreements/Letter  of  Intent  in  the  field  of  Tourism Cooperation signed with:
-  Australia
- 
- Nepal
-  France (Letter of Intent)
-  China
-  Tanzania
-  Uzbekistan
-  Turkmenistan
-  Egypt
-  United Arab Emirates
-  Cambodia
- II. Joint Working Group Meetings held:
-  Mexico
-  Germany
-  Nepal
-  Sri Lanka
- 
- Australia
-  5th SAARC Tourism Working Group Meeting

## III. Other Important Activities:

-  The  Ministry  of  Tourism,  participated  in  the  27th  Joint Meeting  of  the  UNWTO  Commission  for  East  Asia  & Pacific & the UNWTO Commission for South Asia and the UNWTO Regional Ministerial Conference in Maldives
-  The  Ministry  of  Tourism,  Govt.  of  India  organised  a presentation  for  Heads  of  Delegations  of  the  14  Pacific Island  countries  participating  in  the  the  2nd  Summit  of the Forum for India - Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) during their visit to Agra.
-  The Ministry of Tourism participated in the 100th Session of  the  UNWTO Executive Council held in Rovinj, Croatia in May 2015.
-  The Ministry of Tourism participated in the 21st Session of the UNWTO  General  Assembly  held in Medellín, Colombia September 2015.
-  The  Ministry  of  Tourism  participated  in  the  5th  T-20 Ministers' Meeting held in Antalya, Turkey in Sept. 2015.
-  The Ministry of Tourism participated in the 'International Conference  on  Developing  Sustainable  and  Inclusive Buddhist Heritage and Pilgrimage Circuit in South Asia's Buddhist  Heartland'  organized  in  Dhaka,  Bangladesh  in October 2015.
- *******