India ranks 42 in foreign tourists ’ arrivals as per the United Nations World Tourist Organisation .
COVER STORY
market . To promote destinations , cultural and ecotourism have become hugely popular in the Indian context .
Improving infrastructure and connectivity , tourist assistance facilities , safety and regulatory framework , as well as ensuring convenient visa , immigration and customs procedures , will be pivotal for leveraging the full potential of this sector .
The Development in tourism infrastructure is not merely limited to constructing new buildings , roads etc , it also extends to promotion of responsible tourism and sustainable consumption habits of tourists .
The tourism sector has a significant direct impact on our natural resources and environmentally sustainable tourism , or ecotourism , could be a pertinent tool in achieving a fine balance between creating economic growths and preserving natural capital .
Increasing India ’ s share in global tourism market the new National Tourism Policy , the Centre took a slew of measures aimed at creating more jobs . The ministry has split the northeast region into theme-based circuits to boost tourism in the zone under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme . The government will soon launch six tourist circuits in a big way to provide a boost to the sector . The government has finalised a blue print for growth of tourism and more tourist circuits will be added soon . Tourism Ministry has already been working on launching spiritual circuits across the country which includes Buddhist Circuit , Jain Circuit and Sufi Circuit . The Integrated Development of Theme- Based Tourist Circuits there were , 12 cities have been identified for development initially , namely : Amritsar , Ajmer , Dwaraka , Mathura , Varanasi , Gaya , Puri , Amravati , Kanchipuram , Vellankanni , Kedarnath and Guwahati . Under Swadesh Darshan scheme , Spiritual Circuit has been identified as the theme circuit for development .
The Ministry has adopted a code of conduct for safe tourism , which contains a set of guidelines to encourage tourism activities to be undertaken with respect to basic rights like dignity , safety and freedom from exploitation of both tourists and local residents , in particular women and children .
Tourism & Hospitality sector has been a harbinger of ‘ more inclusive growth ’ in India by promoting other industries in the economy through backward and forward linkages and generating employment in various sectors such as hospitality , travel , and entertainment , wellness and other sectors .”
Tourism is a growing industry in India . The declining value of the rupee and a good image of India as an exotic tourist destination have boosted the tourism and hotel industry in India
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India ranks 42 in foreign tourists ’ arrivals as per the United Nations World Tourist Organisation .
The Tourism Ministry , in a single masterstroke , eased up the bottlenecks that patients and business travellers faced while entering India . In a historic move that our Finance Minister Arun Jaitley felt could help propel the growth of India ’ s aviation sector , the government gave ‘ in principle ’ approval for disinvesting its stake in Air India and five of its subsidiaries .
The ban on this controversial beverage was eased after much heartburn was suffered by hotels , restaurants and pubs when the Supreme Court cleared the air around this directive . The Mumbai Port Trust finally started work on upgrading the cruise terminal at a cost of Rs . 225 crore . The Goods & Services Tax ( GST ) was announced on July 1 , 2017 , with the indirect tax replacing multiple cascading taxes levied by the central and state governments . The travel industry is still trying to find its feet in all the confusion despite attending multiple sessions on GST , including a few conducted by the CBEC . The Ministry of Tourism finally saw the need to revive its flailing global campaign with a second version .
A move that should have been made earlier rather than later , the government announced an important project titled ‘ Adopt a Heritage ’ to keep our historical monuments safe and well-maintained . The Ministry of Tourism announces the merger of its HRIDAY ( Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana ) and PRASAD ( Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive ) schemes with effect from 2018 .
24 August 2018