Ministry of Tourism has recognised Adventure Tourism as a Niche Tourism Product, which inter alia includes Water Sports activities, to promote India, including Bihar, as a 365 days destination and attract tourist with specific interest.
To position India as a preferred destination for adventure tourism globally, Ministry of Tourism has formulated a National Strategy for Adventure Tourism.
A National Board for Adventure Tourism has been constituted under the Chairpersonship of Secretary (Tourism), comprising of representatives from identified Central Ministries/ organizations, State Governments/UT Administrations and Industry Stakeholders, with the objective of operationalization and implementation of the strategy to promote and develop adventure tourism in the Country covering:
(i) Detailed action plan and formulation of dedicated scheme
(ii) Certification Scheme
(iii) Safety guidelines
(iv) Capacity building, replication of national and global best practices
(v) Assessment of state policies and ranking
(vi) Marketing and promotion
(vii) Destination and product development
(viii) Private sector participation
(ix) Specific strategies for adventure tourism
(x) Any other measures for growth of adventure tourism in the country.
In addition, Coastal Circuit was identified as one of the thematic circuits under the Scheme of Swadesh Darshan for providing financial assistance to States/UT Administrations for infrastructure development. Apart from the above, Ministry of Tourism, through National Institute for Water Sports (NIWS), Goa, provides training to water sports operators through various skill developing courses and certify the trainees.
This information was given by Minister of Tourism Shri G. Kishan Reddy in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
Union Tourism Minister G. Kishan Reddy pitches for promoting river cruise tourism by utilizing immense potential of rivers in the country
8 MoUs signed on 2nd Day of Incredible India International Cruise Conference in Mumbai
Union Minister Shri Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurates photo exhibition on Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav in Mumbai
Posted On:
15 MAY 2022 4:15PM by PIB Mumbai
Mumbai, 15 May 2022
Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Shri G. Kishan Reddy today stressed upon the vast potential of river cruise industry in the country. Addressing the 1st Incredible India International Cruise Conference (IIICC) in Mumbai, Shri Reddy invited domestic and international tourists to ‘Come, Cruise in India.’ The minister said ‘The Central Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has made significant efforts to clean and rejuvenate our rivers including the mammoth Namami Gange Project, which can provide a major boost to river-based tourist activities’.
Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH Shri Sarbananda Sonowal was also present at the second day of the conference and witnessed the signing of various MoUs. Union Minister Shri Sonowal along with Minister of State Shri Shripad Naik inaugurated the conference yesterday that is jointly organized by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Government of India and FICCI.
Speaking at the conference, the Union Minister Shri Reddy said ‘We are currently working towards a Comprehensive Indian National Tourism Policy’. ‘Cruise tourism will certainly be a priority sector, as it is one of the most vibrant and fast-growing sectors of the leisure and travel industry’, he added. Shri Reddy further said ‘Under the ambitious PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, tourism related infrastructure is also being developed with a focus on shipping, river tourism, forest and wildlife tourism’.
Citing upcoming opportunities, Union Minister Shri Reddy said there are around 150 conferences planned at various places in the G-20 countries. He said ‘we should tap these opportunities; we can develop temporary infrastructure if we need’. ‘We may use these platforms for showcasing tourism potential in our country’, he added. The Minister remarked, ‘The promotion of coastal tourism through Beach tourism, Lighthouse tourism and Cruise tourism will help communities such as fishing communities to find other livelihood opportunities and supplement their existing income’.
Union Minister Shri Reddy said that under the Swadesh Darshan scheme, the Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned ten projects under coastal thematic circuits worth Rs. 648.80 crore across various States / Union Territories. The government has also sanctioned 228.61 crores for various projects on developing cruise terminals and related infrastructure at major ports under the ”Assistance to Central Agencies for Tourism Infrastructure Development” scheme.
On the second day of the conference, Shri G. Kishan Reddy participated in the two Business sessions namely ‘Potential of River Cruising’ and ‘Cruise Tourism: Success Stories and Destination Development’. He also held a meeting with leaders of International Cruise lines.
G. Kamala Vardhan Rao , Director General Tourism spelt out the steps being taken by Ministry of Tourism to promote Domestic & International Tourism post the pandemic period.
MoUs Singed at the Incredible India International Cruise Conference
1. Mumbai Port and Angriya Sea Eagle Ltd for home porting their cruise ship in Mumbai for the upcoming cruising season.
2. Mumbai Port and Waterways Leisure Tourism P. Ltd for home porting their cruise ship in Chennai for the upcoming cruising season.
3. Mumbai Port and Training Ship Rahaman for being an existing service provider in the field of Maritime Training for Cruise Vessels, it will endeavour to recruit Indian seafarers to support Indian Maritime Vision 2030.
4. Mumbai Port and The Apollo Group USA for being an existing service provider to cruise operator in India, with approximately 600 seafarers.
5. Chennai Port and Waterways Leisure Tourism P. Ltd. for home porting their cruise ship in Chennai for the upcoming cruising season.
6. IWAI and Antara Luxury River Cruises for River Cruise between Varanasi (UP) and Bogibeel (Dibrugarh, Assam) via Kolkata under the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route.
7. IWAI and Adventure Resorts and Cruises for Development of Long Cruise on Kerela Backwaters (NW-3).
8. IWAI and JM Baxi River Cruise between Varanasi and Bogibeel via Kolkata under the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route
Exhibition on Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
On the sidelines of the conference, Union Minister Shri Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated photo exhibition on Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav at Gateway of India in Mumbai.
About the Conference
The 1st Incredible India International Cruise Conference was jointly organized by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Government of India and FICCI. Strategies for developing India as a cruise hub, policy initiatives and port infrastructure, potential of river cruise tourism, role of technology in the post-pandemic world were some of the key issues deliberated at the two-day event.
More than 300 delegates representing stakeholders including international and Indian cruiseline operators, investors, industry experts and consultants, senior officials of centre and state governments, ports, maritime boards and tourism boards attended the conference.
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The Ministry of Tourism undertakes various promotional activities in the international and domestic markets to promote tourism destinations and products of the country in a holistic manner. This includes release of media campaigns under ‘Incredible India’ brand-line, promotional events, social media promotions etc. The Ministry of Tourism is promoting Barpeta through its website www.incredibleindia.org.
Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned 10 projects under Heritage Circuit theme of the Swadesh Darshan scheme which includes the project ‘Development of Tezpur – Majuli – Sibsagar’ sanctioned for Rs. 90.98 cr. under Heritage circuit theme in the State of Assam. The Ministry of Tourism has now revamped its Swadesh Darshan scheme in order to develop sustainable and responsible destinations with tourist & destination centric approach.
This information was given by Minister of Tourism Shri G. Kishan Reddy in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Tourism had constituted an inter-ministerial task force for National Digital Tourism Mission on 23rd July, 2021 to undertake consultations with the tourism industry and domain experts, define the context, mission, vision, objectives, and overall scope of the National Digital Tourism Mission.
The Task Force has prepared a draft report on proposed National Digital Tourism Mission, which inter-alia lays down domain and technology principles, standards, digital stack, governance structure and plan for implementation of the envisaged National Digital Tourism Mission.
The Ministry of Tourism has invited final comments from the stakeholders on draft report for setting up of National Digital Tourism Mission. The draft report has also been published on website for suggestions and feedback from public.
The draft report takes note of the fact that tourism sector is highly fragmented. Subsectors of tourism such as transport, accommodation, restaurants and catering, and personal services are all subject to very different challenges and opportunities.
It has also been noted that most of the tourism systems developed by Central Government, State Governments, Public sector and Private sector function in silos. As a result, the tourism ecosystem is unable to harvest the combinatorial benefits of information exchange. Data systems currently don’t interact with each other using a common language, thereby curtailing data analytics and resultant policy-making. In order to overcome the same, there is need for seamless standardized data exchange amongst various stakeholders
The vision of National Digital Tourism Mission is to bridge the existing information gap amongst different stakeholders of tourism ecosystem through a digital highway.
The National Digital Tourism Mission envisages to achieve the objective of harnessing the full potential of digitization in tourism sector by facilitating exchange of information and services in tourism sector spreading across national and state tourism organizations, tourism service providers, tourism destinations, products, experiences and tourists.
The report and notification documents have been uploaded on the Ministry of Tourism website: tourism.gov.in for comments/suggestions of the stakeholders and general public.
The Ministry of Tourism has identified Rural Circuit as one of the 15 thematic circuits under its scheme of ‘Swadesh Darshan’ with the primary objective to create tourism infrastructure at the selected sites/destinations and to enhance visitor experience/satisfaction.
The details of projects sanctioned under Rural Circuit of ‘Swadesh Darshan’ scheme is below. The budget allocation is made for the Swadesh Darshan scheme and no separate allocation is made for Rural Circuits in 2021-22.
THE DETAILS OF PROJECTS SANCTIONED UNDER RURAL CIRCUITS OF SWADESH DARSHAN SCHEME.
(Amount in Rs. Crore)
S.No.
Name of State
Name of Circuit & Year
Project Name
Amt. Sanctioned
Amt. Released
Completion Timeline
1.
Bihar
Rural Circuit
(2017-18)
Development of Gandhi Circuit: Bhitiharwa- Chandrahia- Turkaulia
44.65
35.72
31.03.2022
2.
Kerala
Rural Circuit
(2018-19)
Development of Malanad Malabar Cruise Tourism Project
80.37
23.77
31.12.2022
Total
125.02
59.49
This information was given by Minister of Tourism Shri G. Kishan Reddy in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
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