North hot spot for Christmas, New Year holidays

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, Dec 20: Over five lakh tourists are likely to visit various tourists destinations such as Jaipur, Udaipur, Massourie, Nanital, Shimla, Kullu-Manali, Kashmir valley, Goa, Mysore and Trivantapuram during forthcoming Christmas and New Year holidays, beginning Friday.

According to the estimates made by the ASSOCHAM based on feedback received from various tour operators, bookings for Christmas and New Year celebrations have begun and the above identified spots are emerging as top priorities for tourists in various pockets of India.

As a result of economic boom and rising hotels tariffs in large metro’s and larger townships are the primary factor for shift of tourist choices to secluded places in states like Rajasthan, Uttranchal, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Kerala and Karnataka, in which the tourist destinations could be best enjoyed with budgeted pockets, says Venugopal N. Dhoot, ASSOCHAM President.

The tourist operators and agents that appraised the ASSOCHAM emerging
trends for the tourist during forthcoming Christmas and New Year include Angad Travels India, India Tour Guide , Indian Travel and North India Tours.

During the last holidays, Goa happened to be highly congested tourist spot, for tourist belongings to not only western part of country but equally for central and south India because it provided tourism opportunities at competitive tariffs.

This year, the trend is more towards tourist spots that are comparatively cheaper as tariffs for hotels accommodation have jumped up by nearly 35 to 40 per cent with food and beverages cost also going up by nearly 20 to 25 per cent in larger towns and metros, said D S Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM.

Tourist spots that provide for cheaper cost have become the preferred
destinations and tourist would like to enjoy the beginning of crisp winter in smaller places like Mussourie, Nanital, Shimla and Kullu-Manali.

Mussourie and Nanital are also emerging as the best tourist destinations for North Indians as tourists can attain twin objectives their - one is that of site seeing and another of religious tourism as both Haridwar and Rishikesh are nearer to Massourie and that of Nanda Devi close to Nainital.

It has been observed that the identified places for Christmas holidays are best India suited for all kinds of tourism including rural, cultural, eco-tourism, spiritual, sports and adventure. The tourism industry encompasses accommodations, travel, transport, leisure and entertainment and offers immense employment potential at almost all levels.

Also, India's tourist industry is booming due to a rush of foreign tourists and increased travel by Indians to domestic and overseas destinations. With the great potential available and the development initiatives taken by the government, Indian inbound Tourism has shown a substantial growth in 2006-07.

However, India has to struggle to market itself to the world tourists. For a long time, tourism has been treated as a leisure activity of the rich and somewhat unnecessary destruction for the poor in India. Hence, no concerted efforts were made to develop tourism as an industry in the country.

Now, the story is different as the government is making tourism as a lead industry because of its immense potential for higher revenue realization and i.e. campaign like incredible India was launched in recent times.

National policy to boost adventure tourism: Soni

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, Dec 18: With the Bali conference coming to an agreement to check the climate change and conserve the natural resources, India has decided to formulate comprehensive guidelines for adventure tourism with the aim to boost this niche segment.

Inaugurating the 6th Annual Convention of the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) in New Delhi, Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni has express the need to revise the existing national eco tourism policy in the light of the ongoing international debate on climate change.

Ms Soni said that she has often come across complaints that by-diversity is being eroded further on account of adventure, world life and eco-tourism.

“There was a genuine concern that adventure tourists are not only polluting the place but have little regard for conserving the existing natural resources.”

The Minister cautioned the ATOAI that if they wish expand the scope of adventure tourism, they need to be careful and how they pursue it.
Ms Soni said “responsible tourism in any form will not only help to preserve the natural resources but would enable generate revenue for the betterment of the place and the local communities.”

She assured the industry that the focus of the government was on giving “greater boost to adventure tourism”.

The Minister said “We consider adventure tourism extremely important in taking forward one of the important niche tourism segments of the country.”

She said India was richly endowed with natural diversity consisting of mountains, wildlife, natural parks, rivers and beaches which provide ample opportunities for pursuing adventure sports such as white water river rafting, paragliding, hot air ballooning, skiing, mountain biking, scuba diving, hiking-trekking and rock climbing and rappelling.

“All these add to the multi-dimensionality of the tourism potential which is not very common in many parts of the world,” she added.

The Minister assured the industry that the Government was looking to the problems the industry was facing in promoting adventure tourism.

“The government is looking into the demand of the industry for reducing import of duty on adventure sports equipment, provision of GPS and satellite phones, contour maps for mountaineering, tax holidays and waiver of service taxes, do’s and don’ts signage’s in wildlife parks and development of human resource through government run institutes.”

On this occasion, the Minister also released a special 30 seconds television commercial on Adventure Tourism and the report on “Incredible India campaign” during 2007.

The prime focus of this convention with the theme “Indian Adventure Tourism – the Next Step?” is to create widespread awareness about the multi-dimensional face of the Indian tourism sector.

It seeks to promote India as one of the most exciting Adventure Tourism destinations in the world and intends focusing on the innumerable adventure and eco-tourism opportunities in the country.

Early snowfall brings cheers for tourists, industry

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, Dec 11: Early snowfall in Shimla, the world famous ski resort of Gulmarg and Trikuta Hills of world famous Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Cave Shrine augurs well for the tourists and the tourism industry.

Monday’s snowfall in Shimla, the first of the season, has come after 10 years in the month of December, said the Met office. Generally, Shimla gets its first snowfall in January.

Similarly, Jammu and Kashmir is also gripped with freezing cold. But the daring ones have taken out their warm clothes, mufflers, caps etc and are rushing for holidays at the famous and not so famous tourist spots.

A happy Subhash Goyal, President of Indian Association of Tour Operators, said the phone has been ringing non-stop with the people eager to rush to Shimla as its closer to Delhi and other cities in Haryana.

“Our company is offering packages to different resorts in and around Shimla and other winter spots in Jammu and Kashmir like Gulmarg, Mata Vaishno Devi shrine,” said Goyal, who is also Chairman of Stic Travels.

Vijay Thakur, President, Indian Vision Tours and Travels, said “the early snow suddenly boosts travel and tourism. Families suddenly decide to pack their bags and rush to nearby snow spots like Shimla. Proximity to home, helps in this sudden spurt.”

Thakur, who is also IATO Vice President, said there is sudden spurt in hotel bookings as the long weekend is coming ahead with two holidays of Id on December 21 and Christmas and Christmas on December 25. “This will help the economy of the region as more and more people will get jobs with the influx of tourists.”

"The winter season is peaking, and the snowfall will give a big boost to the tourism industry here," said Yogesh Behl, a local Shimla resident and a hotellier.

There are many people who mix up tourism with religion. Therefore, there is sudden rush of religious tourists to the world famous Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Cave Shrine, which has also experienced snowfall. In fact, this year the snowfall at the snow was late by six days as last year the pilgrims experienced it on December 4.

The daring ones also visit Drass, the world's second coldest place after Siberia, where the night temperature has dipped to minus 15 degrees. At Leh, another popular tourist region is experiencing minus 11.8 degrees.

Much to the delight of tourists, Gulmarg slopes have turned white after continuous snowfall. The report said Tangmarg also experienced four inches of snowfall, first of the season while Gurez and other high altitude areas had half-a-foot to two feet of snowfall.

The holy Amarnath caves have received about two feet of fresh snowfall while Sheshnag, Mahaguns, Pissu top and Panjtherni have received one to two feet of snowfall.

Shimla Meteorological Department Director Manmohan Singh attributed the snowfall to western disturbance (WD), which lay over Himachal and said it would bring light to moderate rain and snow in the state during the next 72 hrs. He said the tourist resort had experienced 31 cm of snowfall ten years ago on December one in 1997.

For the delight of the tourists, it may be mentioned that the tourist places close to Shimla such as Kufri (about 16 km), recorded four to five cm of snow, Narkanda 10 to 11 cm and Khara Pather 15 cm since this Monday morning. It would not be long by the time the famous tourist resort of Manali in Kullu district also receives snow.

Revellers thronging this cool and picturesque town of Shimla, came out of their lodges, hotels and guest houses to enjoy the snowfall. "I am here in India for two weeks. I am enjoying the weather here. It's lovely. It feels like home. It's very cool, wet and fresh," said a Canadian tourist.

This early December snow is considered auspicious for apple growers residing in the upper reaches of Shimla. This early snowfall will benefit the tourism and horticulture sectors of the town.

The economy of Himachal Pradesh is heavily dependent on tourism. More than 3 million domestic and foreign tourists visit the state annually.
In the winters, over 5 lakh domestic and foreign tourists throng Shimla. As per the Department of Tourism records, last winter Shimla played host to 4,77,507 domestic and 18,184 foreign tourists. The number is expected to increase this year.

Rohtang Pass, situated at about 13,050 feet, has recorded about one feet of snowfall since Monday. Bhuntar in Kullu district also experienced about 2.1 cm of snowfall since morning.

The higher altitude areas of the tribal districts of Kinnuar, Lahaul Spiti and Chamba in Himachal have also been experiencing snow. Similarly, the higher areas in the remote Pangi and Bharmaur areas in Chamba district continued are also experiencing snowfall.

Similarly, reports of snowfall have been received from Saach and Kugti Passes and Mahalwar mountain ranges, which have received about three and half feet snow during the last four days.

Keylong, the district headquarter of Lahaul Spiti district, and Kalpa in Kinnuar district had recorded about two cm of snow.

Dinesh Khanna is new President FHRAI

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI: Dinesh Khanna, Executive Director, Eastern International Hotels, has taken over as the new President of Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI).

He assumed charge from Rajesh Mishra on October 28, which was the last day of the 43rd Annual FHRAI Convention in Kolkata.

Speaking on the occasion, Khanna said, “It is a great honour to be appointed as President of this august body representing the hospitality industry. There are innumerable challenges in the light of the tremendous expansion in the hospitality industry across the country.”

He adds, “As the President, my focus will be on the major challenges of infrastructure and I will also have to liaison with various ministers in the state government and at the Centre in terms of matters relating to taxation and incentives. I will also be involved in specific programmes for encouraging corporate and domestic travelers to stay on for the weekends, a period where occupancy dips as far as business travel is concerned.”

Kamal Sharma, Secretary General FHRAI said, “Khanna’s expertise and experience in the industry will help bring in positive changes in the Indian Hospitality Scenario. This move will also induce professionalism in the industry.

Dinesh Khanna has been a committee member of Hotel & Restaurant association of Western India (HRAWI) since 1986. This year he also took over as the President of the association. His major achievements include obtaining license for providing Hotel Reservation facility at both the International and Domestic Airports in Mumbai through the State Aviation Minister.

During his tenure in HRAWI, Khanna has been instrumental in successfully organising the FHRAI Conventions and has attended many meetings with the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, other political leaders, state Excise Commissioner and others regarding outstanding issues of Police License Fee and other State Excise Issues.

Born on October 29, 1950, Khanna studied in St. Columbus High school New Delhi. He completed his ‘O’ Level degree – certification by Cambridge University, London. He did his graduation in Commerce from Hindu College New Delhi, after which he completed his Master of Professional Studies (Hotel Administration) from Cornell University, Ithaca, USA.

Currently, Khanna has acquired a 25 acre land in Bekal, Kerala and is building a Five Star Deluxe property in collaboration with Taj Hotels. This plans to open in 2008.

A multifaceted personality with multifarious interests…seems to be an apt description of Dinesh Khanna. Apart from being actively involved in activities of HRAWI, he is also a member of the Skal Club Mumbai, Rotary Club of Mumbai West, Giants International, Juhu Beach Clean Committee, American Alumni Association and Indo-German Chamber of Commerce among others.

Tourism neglected in West Bengal: CM

By Deepak Arora

KOLKATTA, Oct 26: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has conceded that the tourism sector in West Bengal has been neglected.
He said the government had identified some new ways, including tea tourism, to give it a fillip and create job opportunities in the state.

Inaugurating the annual convention of Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) in Kolkata, Bhattacharjee said "the tourism sector in the state is still neglected. We are failing to exploit it. We have identified some new areas including tea tourism in North Bengal which will attract foreign tourists. Plans are also underway to develop eco-tourism in the Sunderbans."

He said the government would develop tea tourism jointly with private companies. Small hotels would be set up in tea gardens where tourists could stay, play golf and visit nearby wildlife sanctuaries.

Referring to development of eco-tourism in Sunderbans, a world heritage site, the Chief Minister said he had talks with the Centre and UNESCO in this regard. The state government has also appointed an expert agency to promote eco-tourism in the Sunderbans.

He said "the government should not run hotels and restaurants, but develop infrastructure. The Centre should also work in this direction," he said.

He said that emphasis only on the PPP (public private partnership) model will not help. The government has to invest a lot more in infrastructure such as airports and seaports for the development of tourism.

FHRAI president Rajesh Mishra also reiterated the need for infrastructure development. “At Rs 1,026.35 crore, the country’s tourism budget is only 0.15 per cent of the Indian budget. The tourism budget for other Asian countries is China 3.8 per cent, Singapore 9 per cent, Malaysia 7.2 per cent, Thailand 6.8 per cent and Nepal 14 per cent of their respective budgets. Thus, India needs to give significant importance to tourism in the years to come,” he said.

Mishra spoke about the need for more hotel rooms, encouraging the PPP model and the Rural Bharat Certificate Scheme launched by FHRAI for uneducated youth from villages and remote areas of the country.

Ron Scott, director of APIU Global, said a lot of issues being addressed in India were also being addressed in the UK. He too, spoke about the need for the Centre to invest more in infrastructure and the need for tourists to have easy access for places to go to.

“There are several UK-based companies at the budget and business level who are very interested in India. Leading budget hotel company Premier Travel Inn is looking at India and has earmarked sites in Mumbai and Delhi. Another leading chain for value accommodation, Travelodge, is also very interested in setting up a property in the country,” said Scott.

Need to improve infrastructure to attract tourists: Azad

By Deepak Arora

SRINAGAR, Oct 29: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has said that state-of-the-art infrastructure would be set up in Jammu and Kashmir to attract domestic and foreign tourists, whose numbers have already registered an appreciable increase.

Azad said Jammu and Kashmir has great tourism potential due to its natural beauty which needs to be harnessed.

He said "tourism, the mainstay of the state's economy, had received a setback due to militancy but with the improvement in the situation the sector has been put on the rails," and added tourists, particularly foreign, have once again made Kashmir their destination and already appreciable increase has been registered in their arrivals.

He urged the Defence Ministry and other agencies of the Central government to help the state in creating, expanding and modernising the tourism infrastructure in the state.

Referring to the scenic beauty and climate of Pahalgam, the Chief Minister said the place can emerge as an international tourist destination especially for adventure and winter sports tourism and there is need to create the matching infrastructure.

Azad said the Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering and Winter Sports (JIMWS) can do a lot in this direction. The institute can be a catalyst in attracting a large number of youth to Pahalgam for skiing, river rafting, mountaineering and other adventure sports, he added.

Creating prosperity together

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, Oct 23: Keeping in mind the acute shortage of hotel rooms in the country, the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) has urged the Government to work in tandem with the hospitality industry to create prosperity for all, including the aam admi.

Speaking to this correspondent, FHRAI President Rajesh Mishra revealed that India was lagging behind countries like China in the hospitality industry. “There are around 1.5 lakh hotel rooms in India against 10 lakh rooms in China.”

Keeping this in mind, the FHRAI has aptly kept the theme of its forthcoming 48th annual convention in Kolkata as “Hospitality and the Government – Creating Prosperity Together”.

Mishra said the three-day convention beginning Friday “will emphasize upon the fact that the Government and the hospitality industry need to work in unison.”

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee will inaugurate the convention. The three-day convention will see serious interaction and debates on burning issues on topics like “Redefining hospital education” and “Inspirational leadership”, “Debt and education”, “Innovate strategies”, “Consumers and Copyright Act” and “Stress management.”

The first plenary session will deal with the theme of the convention and will be attended by policy makers as well as members of the hospitality industry.

The President said Ron Scott, in his keynote address, will present the European model of togetherness. “We will try to present a comparison in Indian and European model of hospitality and the government – creating prosperity together at the convention.”

A session on “Why Restaurants fail?” will be addressed by S K Khullar, Charles Mantosh, Kamlesh Barot, Vikram Bakshi, Anjan Chatterjee and Shawn Kenworthy.

In a first in the country, Mishra said the convention would see a Tourism Minister’s Conclave where policy makers would be deliberating on the ways, means and strategies with land bank policy and PPP model for setting up new hotels in different states of India.

The Tourism Ministers from Jharkhand, Tripura, Mizoram, Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana are expected to participate in the conclave.

In another first, Mishra said “there will also be a session on Women entrepreneurs that will be attended by leading ladies of the industry including Smita Parikh, Archana Capoor and Poonam Dhillon.”

FHRAI Secretary General Kamal Sharma said “we have invited bankers, infrastructure developers, government officials, decision makers and ministers connected with hospitality and tourism industry to the convention."

Sharma said "it is going to interesting for all those entrepreneurs who desire to make their dreams come true.”

S P Jain of FHRAI said the convention would update with members with the latest technology developments in the hospitality industry.

On the shortage of hotel rooms, Mishra said “the land crisis has almost made it impossible for developers to launch projects in the smart or budget category. If the government does not address the issue immediately, the bulk of the market will be lost.”

The convention will also see a trade show that would showcase products and services from manufacturers and suppliers of the hotel industry, establish contacts and services from them and discuss business deals.

Sri Lanka leads global Carbon Free Destination Initiative

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, Oct 9: Proactively recognising the need for the Tourism Industry to prepare for a possible change in tourism demand as a response to global climate change, destination Sri Lanka has come up with a proactive initiative of global significance.

With transport as one of the most visible contributors to global warming, increased awareness regarding climate change might induce tourists to switch from long haul to short haul destinations. But these shifts could potentially harm least developed countries, most of which depend heavily on tourism income. As many as 46 of the 49 poorest countries of the world rely on international tourism as their primary source of foreign exchange earnings.

Addressing the second International Conference on Climate Change and Tourism in Davos, Switzerland, Renton de Alwis of Sri Lanka Tourism announced the initiative "A Tourism Earth Lung – Towards a Carbon Clean Sri Lanka".

This practical policy response championed by Sri Lankan Tourism Minister Milinda Moragoda represents a bridge across the trade-off between environmental awareness and tourism's pro-development potential.

As a small country which depends heavily on long-haul travel to generate tourism income, Sri Lanka is facing up to the climate challenge and aims at becoming the first carbon neutral destination.

As its tropical forest systems can store large amounts of carbon which otherwise would add to the CO2 in the atmosphere, Sri Lanka aspires to be a travel and tourism Earth Lung. Sri Lanka is also home to the 'Sinharaja', a virgin rain forest which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

With its commitment to a range of LULUCF-activities (Land Use, Land Use Change & Forestry) associated with appropriate Carbon Offset Programs (COP), "this initiative has both real and symbolic value and we hope other countries and stakeholders to join the Earth Lung Community to create a global framework that will contribute to the overall UN response to climate change," said UNWTO Assistant Secretary-General, Geoffrey Lipman.

Sri Lanka Tourism has initiated action to include tourism in the country's Carbon Trading Policy Framework and will take on significant initiatives to make Sri Lanka a Carbon neutral tourism destination within a specific time frame.

The is expected to set the agenda for a ministerial tourism meeting in London in November ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference scheduled for Bali, Indonesia in December. It has been organized by UNWTO together with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and supported by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Swiss Government.

Addressing the meet, Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Francesco Frangialli has said tourists could become a rare breed as global warming takes its toll on holiday destinations.

Delegates were warned that tourists could turn their back on traditional destinations and even opt to stay at home.
Mr Fraangialli said “damage to tourist sites could cause severe job losses and economic disruption. The consequences for some destinations could be very serious. Climate change is not a remote future event for tourism.”

Holidaymakers could be discouraged from going away as they considered the potential environmental impact of their lifestyles and as some destinations lose their allure. Tourism is said to account for 5 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions that are blamed for global warming, the bulk caused by transport.

Global warming poses a threat to coastal areas, which risk being overwhelmed by algae as a result of warmer seas, while ski resorts, particularly at lower altitude, are already suffering from less snowfall.

Shardul Agrawala of the Organisation for European Cooperation and Development (OECD) said the European Alps were particularly sensitive. Since the 1980s, warming in the Alps has been three times the global average.

An OECD report last December said an additional warming of one degree Celsius would lead to a 60 percent decrease in the number of 'naturally snow-reliable' ski areas in Germany. Under a four-degree warming, practically none of those areas would remain viable ski resorts.

The 450 delegates, who attended the conference from governments, the tourism industry and environmental organisations, were told adaptation was a necessary step and would have to go hand in hand with mitigating efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Astronaut's son buys $30 M space ticket

CAPE CANAVERAL, Sept 30: The son of a retired astronaut is about to follow his father into orbit, after buying a $30 million ticket for a seat on a Russian rocket.

Richard Garriott, who made his fortune in computer games, is scheduled to blast off aboard a Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan in October 2008 on a one-week trip to the international space station.

His father, Owen Garriott, 76, spent 59 days aboard Skylab, America's first space station, in 1973 and flew aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 1983.

It will be the first time a child of an American astronaut rockets into space. In Russia, sons have followed their fathers into the cosmonaut corps three times, and one is slated to go to the international space station next spring.

"My dad was an astronaut so I grew up believing that space was going to be available for everyone at some point in the future," Richard Garriott told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday. "But I realized that the NASA method was a statistical improbability. If I was going to get a chance to go myself, it would have to be through private space travel."

Garriott is 46 and lives in a medieval-style mansion in Austin, Texas, complete with its own dungeon and secret passages. The house is modeled after the setting of his "Ultima" video games.

He plans to dedicate much of his time in space to science, engineering and educational projects. A biotechnology company co-founded by his father, who has a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, will send up protein experiments for him to work on.

"Because of my career, it was almost natural for Richard to be interested in space and exploration," Owen Garriott said in a statement issued Friday by Space Adventures Limited, the Virginia company that brokered the trip.

Space Adventures has organized orbital flights for five previous millionaires, including the first paying space tourist, California businessman Dennis Tito, in 2001. The early trips went for a reported $20 million each, but in July, Space Adventures President Eric Anderson said the weak dollar had spiked the price to a minimum $30 million.

Richard Garriott, a University of Texas dropout, developed the "Ultima" series, a computer game franchise, and with his brother, Robert, founded Origin Systems, a computer game developer and publisher. He also co-founded the North American arm of NCsoft, an online game developer and publisher. His newest game, "Tabula Rasa", is due out in October.

In Russia, Sergey Volkov, 34, a pilot, is set to fly to the international space station, as commander, next spring. His father, Aleksandr, rocketed into orbit in the 1980s and early 1990s. And Roman Romanenko, 36, trained as a cosmonaut but has never flown in space. His father, Yuri, flew as a space commander in the 1970s and 1980s.

Neither of the father-son cosmonaut combo of Aleksandr Skvortsov Sr. and Jr. has flown in space.

On the U.S. side, space has proven to be a family affair for identical twins Scott and Mark Kelly, both shuttle pilots, and several married couples. One couple, now divorced and married to other people, even flew on the same shuttle mission in 1992.

Ambika opens China National Tourist Office

NEW DELHI, Aug 20: Union Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni and China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) Chairman Shao Quwei jointly inaugurated the China National Tourist Office here today.

Speaking on the occasion Soni said the opening of the CNTA office is in conformity with the Action Plan adopted by the two countries in February during the launch of 'India-China Year of Friendship through Tourism'.

Soni said it is also an indication of the importance that Beijing attaches to expanding people to people links with India through tourism.

She said her ministry will provide all necessary support for the smooth functioning of the Chinese Tourist Office.

Soni said UNWTO survey has placed China and India amongst the fastest going outbound destinations in the world. A very interesting feature of outbound statistics reveals that 78 per cent of outbound traffic from Asia is within the region itself. The Minister said she is confident that if India and China can manage their two way tourist traffic, it will make a significant contribution to the Asia region.

The Indian Minister said the Beijing Olympics next year is a major event for China. Massive infrastructure has been created and Chinese people are working round the clock to make it a success. India too is gearing itself to hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

She said these mega events have enormous touristic value both during and after the event. We need to share our experiences and learn from each other, she added.

Chairman of the National Tourism Administration of China Shao Qiwei said on the occasion that the opening of Tourist Office in India will further promote bilateral relations. He said his country is looking tourists from India during Olympics and World Expo in Shanghai.

Earlier, the India-China Tourism Forum met to exchange information for future cooperation in the tourism sector between the two countries. More than 120 delegates from India and China attended the meeting.

Soni and Shao Qiwei also held a brief meeting to discuss ways to further promotion of bilateral relations in tourism sector.

A high level Chinese Tourism Delegation led by Chairman of the National Tourism Administration of the People's Republic of China (CNTA) is currently in India at the invitation of the Indian Minister of Tourism and Culture.

A series of events will be held in New Delhi and Mumbai during the stay of the Delegation in India which include China Tourism Night in New Delhi and Mumbai. Over 200 travel industry representatives in each place have been invited to meet with their Chinese Counterpart and explore business opportunities with them.

Tour operators demand closure of e-biz portal

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, Aug 7: India’s top tour operators and travel agents have criticized the Tourism Ministry for threatening the livelihood of hundreds and thousands of entrepreneurs by launching an e-commerce platform on the official website of ‘Incredible India’.

The country’s top tourism associations, who have come together under the banner of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), demanded a probe in handling the e-commerce business to a foreign party "on a platter".

Demanding the closure of the portal, they said “we can not give on a platter Incredible India brand worth millions and millions of dollars to a foreign company Eviivo of the UK.”

In a statement they said the Tourism Ministry should not get involved in the commercial activities which would adversely affect the livelihood of over 200,000 tour operators and agents as it connected customers directly to service providers.

The statement said “the Tourism Ministry should take cognizance of these irregularities and respond by canceling the appointment of Eviivo in its present role and institute an enquiry to investigate that how such a major decision was taken affecting all of us by ignoring all norms of public interest and accountability.”

IATO president Subhash Goyal said "they have created an uneven ground in the tourism business and endangered the existence of lakhs of tour operators and travel agents. The industry has not been taken into confidence."

At a meeting held in the Capital, leading tour operator associations demanded the government show "transparency" on its tie-up with Eviivo, the UK-based technology partner, which has been authorised to conduct business through the official website www.incredibleindia.org

Besides IATO, other associations protesting the move included Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI), and Indian Tourist Transporters Association (ITTA).

Goyal said "the business has been handed over on a platter to a foreign tour operator, bypassing all other stakeholders, tour operators, travel agents, domestic tour operators, adventure tour operators, Indian IT industry in a non-transparent manner."

Demanding the cancellation of appointment of Eviivo, the IATO president said "this step towards creating a monopolistic situation is not only against national interest but also raises many questions such as through what process was Eviivon selected? What were the criteria for approving it as the Ministry of Tourism partner?"

The tour operators also demanded to know the revenue sharing model of the government with Eviivo.

Raising suspicions on the "urgency" with which the e-commerce portal was launched, Goyal alleged that even 10 days after its launch, there are no bed and breakfast accommodations (B&Bs), no hotels in any city except a few in places like Delhi and Mumbai on the site.

On July 25 last, the ministry had announced its tie-up with Eviivo, for operating an e-commerce platform on its flagship portal.

Expressing shock at the move, Goyal said: "The government should not get involved in commerce and go beyond its role of a facilitator."

At the meeting IATO president said “all the associations will take joint action to safeguard the interest of their members.” This was unanimously supported by Rajji Rai, Vice President, TAAI, Praveen Chugh, President, TAFI, Krishan Yadav, Hony. Secretay, ITTA, Jyoti Kapur, Past President, ADTOI and Akshay Kumar, EC Member, ATOAI.

They also decided to form a “Joint Action Group” to not only fight against the Incredible India E-Commerce platform but also take up all other issues facing the entire industry like service tax, fringe benefit tax and VAT.

This Joint Action Group would meet regularly and complete the formalities by getting mandate from their associations to form a “National Federation of Tourism and Associations”, said the statement.

Incredible India now in the e-biz world

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, July 31: The Tourism Ministry's 'Incredible India' campaign now has an e-commerce platform that allows domestic and international tourists to access information about any travel destination in India with suitable accommodation and book the facilities online.

Launching the e-commerce platform on its Incredible India website here recently, Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni said that the latest initiative of the ministry would be the most effective method of accessing information by the tourists.
Soni said there is no doubt that the web based enabled services in tourism will strengthen the industry and empower the customers.

She said it will facilitate customers to communicate directly with the agencies, tour operators, hotels and Bed and Breakfast establishment 24 hours a day and many of these service providers have become registered members of the online e-commerce platform.

The e-commerce platform through website www.incredibleindia.org has been developed jointly by the tourism ministry and EVIIVO, a UK-based company that operates similar e-tourism sites in Britain and Australia.

It offers online booking services for a range of accommodation businesses across India, enabling international and domestic tourists to use the services by searching on the homepage and complete their transactions in dollars or rupees.

The Minister said 'this is a big boon for our bed and breakfast scheme. It will put those who want to give out their accommodation for rent and those who want to occupy it in direct contact.”

Tourism Secretary Christy Fernandez said this initiative would help remove the general perception that India was an expensive destination.

“There is a general perception that India is an expensive destination. This initiative will help the consumer get in touch with small and medium service providers and access services at affordable rates.”

Fernandez said “a consumer wants the best offer at the most competitive prices. This initiative will benefit all the stakeholders of the tourism sector.”

Soni said the foreign tourist inflow to India grew from 3.29 million in 2005 to 4.43 million in 2006.

The Minister said “medical tourism will benefit maximum from the e-commerce platform. We had 125,000 medical tourists to India in 2004 and the numbers are set to increase much more.”

Soni said “the medical tourism industry is worth US $ 333 million and is growing at the rate of 25 percent every year. We have been able to facilitate special medical visas for a year and are working with the ministry of home affairs to increase the duration to three years.”

She also urged the people to support the 'Atithi Devo Bhava' (guests are like gods) campaign of the ministry which encourages sanitation and proper sewage disposal and campaigns against graffiti on historical monuments.

The main objective of this platform is to facilitate SME (Small and Medium Entrepreneur) to be on a global network to promote online sale without any committed investment.

Nearly 4,000 hotels, 40 bed and breakfast units, six State governments and about a dozen tour operators have tied up with the ministry to offer their services on the Incredible India website. The Ministry is hoping that more service providers would join the initiative soon.

China targets one million tourists from India

By Deepak Arora

BEIJING, July 24: As a build up to the growing economic and political ties between the two countries, China has set its eyes to attract one million tourists from India. Last year, 450,000 Indians had traveled to China, an immensely popular tourist destination worldwide.

Speaking to this correspondent in Beijing recently, Mr Shao Qiwei, Chairman of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), said “China and India are big developing countries having 40 per cent of world’s population. The two countries are set on the path of strategic cooperation and enjoy good political relations.”

Mr Shao, who is China's Tourism Minister, said “the two countries have laid good economic and political foundation for furthering understanding between the two countries. The current two-way trade between the two countries was US $ 23 billion and it is expected to reach US $ 40 billion by 2010."

However, he said that the tourism between the two countries was not maintaining the same pace as the growth in trade volume. “There is a great potential to develop tourism ties between the two nations.”

With the combined efforts of the Tourism Ministries of the two countries, Mr Shao expressed confidence in increasing the tourist arrival numbers. Last year, about 450,000 Indians visited China as compared to mere 50,000 Chinese visiting India. He pointed out that last year China had attracted 5 million tourists from Japan and Korea each.

Mr Shao said the China-India Friendship Year 2007 through Tourism would help further promote tourism cooperation between the two countries.

Beijing next year is hosting Olympics. Obviously, this would focus world’s attention on China. “We take this as a good opportunity to promote tourism in three stages: pre-Olympics, during the Olympics and post Olympics.”

He said “when we will not only market city of Olympics – Beijing, but other cities too. To go with the spirit of ‘One World One Dream’ slogan of the Olympics, we will encourage visitors to visit neighbouring countries such as Japan, Korea and other countries in the South East.”

In this regard, he said these countries would be enhancing marketing efforts with China. He also offered such cooperation with India to promote Indian tourism.

Recalling his two visits to India that took him to New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkatta and Bangalore, Mr Shao said he was greatly impressed by the beauty and architecture of Taj Mahal.

Calling for exploiting the huge tourism potential between the two neighbouring countries, the CNTA Chairman said there was an urgent need to increase direct flights between important cities.

Expressing satisfaction at India starting Chinese version of 'Incredible India' website, Mr Shao urged Indian authorities to create Chinese language facilities. He also said the accommodation in India was bit too expensive for the Chinese traveller to afford a trip to the Indian destinations. On an average, room tariff for five-star hotel in China is about 780 Yuans (Rs 5,850) -- down from India where it goes Rs 8,500 and up.

Drawing comparisons between India and China hotel facilities, Wang Yan Jie, Deputy Director, CNTA, said, "In China we have facilities according to the star-ratings. But in India five star hotels have five star facilities but when it comes to four or three star hotels their services fall down at once and they are no star. So, either they are five-star or no-star."

Mr Shao is visiting New Delhi next month. Besides meeting his Indian counterpart, Tourism Minister Ambika Soni and other Indian leaders and travel and tourism professionals, he would also open China National Tourism Administration office that would promote the understanding between the two people.

He also allayed India's fears that the metalled highway to the base camp of Mount Everest would result in ecological damage. China would "strictly monitor" the number of tourists treading that road, he added.

"We want to develop tourism and environment both. But when we have to chose between the two, environment will be our first priority," said Mr Shao.

Brushing aside allegations that China cared a little about environment when it comes to implementing state interests, he argued environment itself was important to attract tourism in China. "If we do not protect our environment, we cannot expect to attract tourists here."

Tourism, clean environment close to Pratibha Patil’s heart

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI: The likely next President of India, Pratibha Patil’s love for tourism is well-known. What is significant is that she becomes next incumbent of Rashtrapati Bhavan at a time when the United Nations has set the theme for World Tourism Day as “Tourism opens doors for women”.

The Day is celebrated each year on September 27, the anniversary of the adoption of the original UNWTO statutes. Following on the “Tourism Enriches” theme in 2006, this year’s campaign highlights the opportunities that the sector offers for women.

In the context of UNWTO’s Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, the Organization intends to join forces with UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women) to enhance further the role of women in tourism. It will be reviewed annually through 2015, the year targeted by the UN to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Indian tourism industry has also expressed their happiness for a woman of the stature of Pratibha Patil being almost set to be the next President.

Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) President Subhash Goyal said Pratibha Patil’s love for tourism was evident when at a short notice as a Governor of Rajasthan she agreed to inaugurate our convention at Jaipur last year.

"When the IATO team went to Raj Bhawan to invite her we found that she was unassuming, down to earth, caring and warm person," said Goyal. She was aware that how the growth of tourism industry could transform the life of “aam aadmi”, especially the women folk.

At the IATO convention she had asked other States to emulate the success story of Rajasthan tourism that would contribute significantly to tourism growth in the country. She also emphasized on developing medical tourism in the country. "We have some of the best heart surgeons in the world and a heart surgery here costs much less," she added.

Former TAAI President Balbir Mayal, who was also present at the IATO convention in Jaipur, said that she has a pro pro-tourism bent of mind.

Mayal said India is changing at a fast pace with women holding important top positions. They have been excelling in sports, education, politics and space.

“Look around, UPA Chairperson and Congress President is Sonia Gandhi. Then we have Ambika Soni as Tourism and Culture Minister, Renuka Chowdhury, Women and Child Development Minister and Kiran Choudhary, Haryana Tourism Minister, who have left their indelible mark on the Indian polity and their respective fields.”

Mayal said the elevation of a woman to the highest office of the land would be another jewel in the crown for India in the world arena and the tourism sector.

Haryana Tourism and Forest Minister Kiran Choudhary Haryana, said "since India was the biggest democratic country in the world, it was a matter of great pride for a woman to be the President of the country."

She said UPA Chairperson’s decision to announce the name of Pratibha Patil for election to the post of President of India was a step towards welfare of the women in India and their uplift. “Her elevation would help the cause of tourism, environment, cleanliness, honesty and transparency, the issues close to her heart.”

FHRAI President Rajesh Mishra said “Swami Vivekananda has said if your female folk is qualified and developed than your entire family will be developed. If you have a woman Rashtrapati, who is qualified and developed and has lot of experience, our country is bound to reach new heights under her Presidentship.”

Mishra said India is in a pre-boom situation and tourism is growing at a very high rate. With modern thinking and globalization age and whenever we gather from the industry about the prospective Presidential candidate, we welcome her candidature as it will be a growth oriented step for the hospitality industry. Her tourism friendly mind will help India to be more prosperous in tourism in the next five years.

This year’s host nation for World Tourism Day is Sri Lanka where the programme will be launched. Together with the Sustainable Tourism Research Centre in Australia, UNWTO will launch a new dedicated website. www.tourismgender.com will focus its attention on the role of gender in tourism and how to enhance it, addressing women as agents of change in and for sustainable tourism.

In order to increase public awareness of the interrelation between tourism and its beneficial role for women, UNWTO will launch an online photo contest to show women playing leadership roles at all levels within the sector. The 12 selected winners will be exhibited during the UNWTO General Assembly in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, in November.

“With Sri Lanka as the Host Country and planned celebrations around the world, UNWTO is launching this new initiative to show the achievements, opportunities and challenges for women in tourism”, according to UNWTO Francesco Frangialli.

“By working closely with our sister Agency UNIFEM and using our Global Code of Ethics for Tourism as a framework, we believe we can help this industry make even greater contribution to the Millennium Development Goals.”

The promotion of gender equality, empowerment of women and the elimination of gender disparity in education is the third UN Millennium Development Goal to which the UNWTO is committed.

Ambika Soni votes for Taj Mahal

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, June 22: The echoes of “Mera Bharat Mahan and Mera Taj Mahan” are reverberating all over the world. In India too the people in different cities have launched vigorous campaign to ensure that the Taj Mahal, monument of love, makes to the list of the Top Seven Wonders of the World.

On Friday, Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni voted for Taj Mahal. She voted through an SMS. The voting is taking place to include the Taj Mahal in the list of seven new wonders of the world. The campaign is being organized by a privately funded Switzerland based organization.

Along with the Minister, the Secretary Culture Badal K. Das and Joint Secretaries R. C. Mishra and N.C. Goel also voted in favour of Taj Mahal.

The race for the seven marvels closes early next month and the results will be announced in Lisbon, Portugal, on July 7. Pupular Bollywood actress, Bipasha Basu, has been invited for the event.

The Taj has made it to the top 10, but it needs more votes to make it to the top seven, according to the New 7 Wonders Society, a Swiss non-profit group that has launched the global online, phone and SMS poll. Anyone can cast his or her vote at www.new7wonders.com or by sending SMS to ‘Taj at 4567’.

The Presidents of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) Subhash Goyal and the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) Rajesh Mishra and Balbir Mayal, former president of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) have also urged people, especially in the travel and tourism industry to ensure that the Taj makes it top ten.

With less than two weeks to go for the final list, Balbir Mayal has not only ensured the vote of his family but is also appealing to people to vote online for the Taj as this is India's only hope to be proud of having one of the seven wonders in India.

Rashesh Mishra has taken a lead on the issue and asked all the units of the FHRAI to ensure that everyone votes for the Taj and the monument of love continues to wonder with its prestine love and beauty.

At the Berlin International Sand Sculpture Championship India’s sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik through his sculpture appealed to art-lovers worldwide to vote overwhelmingly for the Taj.

Youths in different Indian cities are also continuing with a frenzied campaign to encourage people to vote for the Taj. They are distributing pamphlets and posters at the colleges, bus stands, railway stations, cinema halls, universities and other public places where more and more people can read these posters and pamphlets.

Mapping the future of sustainable tourism

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, June 19: Tourism has long term resilience, despite man made and natural disasters. Moderation of historical annual growth trends of 6 per cent during the past half century to a projected 4 per cent going forward, signals a maturing of the sector. It is particularly important, that developing country markets are growing at a higher rate than the global norm.

With sustainable management, the tourism sector can make a lasting contribution to socio-economic development at both a global and local level, according to Hammamet Declaration adopted at the just concluded fifth International Tourism Forum for Parliamentarians and Local Authorities in Tunisia.

The meeting was held under the auspices of United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the patronage of Tunisia President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

The conference brought together over 300 representatives from 95 countries. The participants reviewed the key factors affecting tourism and how the sector interfaces with national and local governments, ranging from economic aspects to social, cultural and environmental issues.

Officials and representatives of parliaments and local governments met with members of the private sector, underscoring the increasingly important role which national, regional and local governments have in mapping the future progress of sustainable tourism.

The declaration stated that the tourism industry and its institutions are learning to anticipate risks, to respond rapidly to shock and are increasingly conscious of the need to match expansion with carrying capacity.

“This is particularly important at the local destination level where the impacts are most acute, where the public and private sector must collaborate closely for adequate response and where the views of communities have to be factored into the decision making process.

“This decentralization will intensify and the roles of UNWTO’s Affiliate Members and new Centre of Excellence for Destinations will be increasingly relevant,” it said.

The Declaration said that tourism has to play its part in responding to the two major challenges of our time - the issues of extreme poverty and climate change. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has rightly identified the need for a coherent strategy – for energy conscious sustainability and for development focused solidarity.

UNWTO as the central UN Agency for the sector can seriously help the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals alignment of key programs of the organization for this purpose. It is a positive sign – most notably its ST-EP (Sustainable Tourism – Eliminating Poverty) program which focuses on the use of sustainable tourism for the elimination of poverty and its application to community integration and capacity building.

UNWTO can also help the sector in the essential constructive response to the Climate imperative. That response has to establish a long term framework of change that must be initiated now with a focus on adaptation, mitigation and new technologies across all parts of the tourism supply and demand chains.

Products, processes and structures will need to be re-focused at both industry and consumer levels. The need to protect developing and emerging countries, which rely on tourism exports, was emphasized – particularly in the context of their vital air transport development lifelines.

To underpin its work on poverty and climate, UNWTO should consolidate its sector defining initiatives to measure economic impacts through the Tourism Satellite Account, to establish responsible tourism practices through the Global Code of Ethics to drive destination management through its Sustainability Indicators, to promote Africa through its Windows on Africa Portal and to support emergency response, particularly avian influenza preparedness, through its www.sos.travel initiative.

Tourism is a crosscutting sector which can provide valuable inputs and synergies for many sectors such as infrastructure, communications and investment of the economy at local, national, regional and global levels. It is important that government at all levels recognize this reality and factor it into their primary decision making activities.

The development community should also take account of both its social and economic impacts and synergies. As should the World Trade Organization in its Doha Development Round and Aid for Trade initiative, it said.

Indians worldwide push for a Taj Wonder

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, June 12: Indians worldwide have launched a vigorous campaign to ensure that the Taj Mahal, monument of love, makes to the list of the Top Seven Wonders of the World. The race for the seven marvels closes early next month and the results will be announced in Lisbon, Portugal, on July 7.

The Taj has made it to the top 10, but it needs more votes to make it to the top seven, according to the New 7 Wonders Society, a Swiss non-profit group that has launched the global online, phone and SMS poll. Anyone can cast his or her vote at www.new7wonders.com or by sending SMS to ‘Taj at 4567’.

The US-based Kevin Kaul, Chairman, Friends of South Asian American Communities, has also been reaching to all Americans and Indians to ensure that the Taj makes it to top ten.

With less than a month to go for the final list, Kevin Kaul is appealing to people to vote online for the Taj as this is India's only hope to be proud of having one of the seven wonders in India.

India’s sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik is going to make a last-ditch attempt to canvass for the “Monument of Love's” inclusion in the prestigious list. He is participating in the Berlin International Sand Sculpture Championship beginning from June 14 where he has decided to use the forum as a medium to appeal art-lovers worldwide to vote overwhelmingly for the Taj.

"Paradise is the theme given to me as the base of the sculpture that I will design in the Berlin fair.”

Youths in different Indian cities have also launched a vigorous campaign to encourage people to vote for the Taj. They are distributing pamphlets and posters at the colleges, bus stands, railway stations, cinema halls, universities and other public places where more and more people can read these posters and pamphlets.

Artists in Bikaner are painting their bodies with pictures of the Taj Mahal in a bid to have the 17th century monument included in the new Seven Wonders of the World list. "I am getting my face and body painted to convince people to vote for the Taj Mahal. I roam around the city everyday and appeal to people to vote," said Mohsin, an artist. These artists are also planning a nation-wide campaign in favour of the monument.

"I have painted the pictures of Taj Mahal on the bodies of 50 people. I want more and more people to vote for the Taj Mahal," said Khemchand Sharma, a fine arts student.

"Before May 23, the voting percentage of Indians was only 0.7, but after publicity drives have been launched, it has rapidly increased, standing at 4.5 per cent yesterday," said Bharat Kapadia, the Chairman of 'Indian Unites for the Taj' campaign, which is mobilising people to vote for the monument of love.

"The campaign is gradually gaining momentum. But we will have to really keep it up, especially in view of the fact that other countries are also voting spiritedly for their monuments," Kapadia, whose I Media Corp is the official partner of N7W Foundation in India, said.

Some 50 million people have voted so far in the competition designed to produce a 21st Century list of the world's greatest man-made heritage sites, but Tia Viering, a spokeswoman for the organisation, said the result is wide open.

Many countries are carrying out special events to encourage people to vote for their sites. "There are some really creative, phenomenal things going on in the last four weeks that will influence the final result," Viering said.

These include an Indian singer dedicating a song to the Taj Mahal and Brazil's soccer team urging Brazilians to vote for Christ Redeemer, the statue that adorns Rio de Janeiro's skyline.

Besides the Taj Mahal, the 21 finalists in this list also include Rome's Colosseum, Jordan's ancient city of Petra, Britain's Stonehenge, the Eiffel Tower and the Great Wall of China. These were shortlisted on January 1 by an experts’ panel chaired by the former UNESCO chief, Federico Mayor.

Viering said the number of votes so far for each site will not be divulged as it could influence the final result. The organisation running the competition, which could become the largest ever global poll, was established by Swiss/Canadian filmmaker Bernard Weber.

Only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world remains is standing today — the Pyramids of Giza. The originals, located in the Mediterranean region, also included the Lighthouse of Alexandria and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

A Swiss-based organisation New Open World Corporation (NOWC) had started the process called "New seven wonders of the world" in September 1999. In November 2004, there were as many as 177 monuments for consideration as wonders of the world. This list was reduced to only 21 monuments in January 2006.

Mughal Emperor Shahjehan built the Taj Mahal as a symbol of his enduring love for his wife Mumtaz. It stands on a marble platform in the city of Agra, 200 km south of Delhi, and is surrounded by ornamental gardens.

Uttrakhand emphasis on world class tourism infrastructure

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI: “Uttrakhand is going over a new makeover to attract high-end rich domestic and foreign tourists. However, that does not mean that we would ignore other tourists. We plan to upgrade and create new properties to attract middle-class and budget tourists,” says Prakash Pant, State Tourism Minister.

Spelling out his priorities, Pant said the emphasis will be building and strengthening road, rail and air and hotels and motels infrastructure to make a pleasant stay for tourists in the State.

Keeping the financial constraints in mind, he said “we plan to follow the Public-Private Participation (PPP) mode to build ropeways, hotels, sky resorts, motels etc.”

To attract rich tourists, Pant said the State’s first five star hotel would come up at its capital in Dehradun through the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) mode.

“We will give 10 acre land on lease for 30 years and Emmar group has agreed to give us Rs 53 lakh and 2 per cent of revenue. Our revenue share will be about Rs 7 crore per annum. The private group will construct and operate the 165 room hotel that will have a heath club and a 600 capacity convention hall. The hotel will be build at a cost of Rs 75 crore.”

Keeping in mind increasing number of pilgrimage tourists to the Char Dhams and destinations like Haridwar and Rishikesh, the Minister said “we plan to set up new motels and budget hotels at a distance of every 50 to 75 kilometers on tourism circuits for the middle-class and budget class tourists.”

He said the state public-sector undertakings – Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd -- have 6,000 bed-capacities in about 130 tourist bungalows. “We will upgrade these properties too.” For the budget class tourists, who travel a lot, we are providing financial support to local residents to set up small motel-like residential accommodation and other tourist related infrastructure.

He said the state-of-the-art infrastructure for pilgrims on the four pilgrimage centres referred to as the Char Dham – Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath -- would ensure their safety as well as comfort.

Pant said “we are also building ropeways through the PPP mode at Yamnotri, Rishkesh-Neelkanth, Kedarnath and Hem Kund Sahib.
Besides, he said the State is also expanding its airports and air strips to attract high-end tourists. “Once expansion of the airports is complete we will receive bigger aircraft. We also plan to encourage helicopter service in the State that will cover more tourist and pilgrimage spots.”

The Minister said the State also plans to re-launch heritage rail trek from Haridwar to Rishikesh. “We will discuss this project with the Central Government.”

Pant hopes that the State would see the increase of domestic and foreign tourists from 20 to 25 per cent in the current year. Last year, he said 1.94 crore tourists visited the State.
The number of foreign tourists that visited the State last year were 96,264 up from 92,742 in the year 2005.

He said the State is also gearing up to host the Asian Winter Games at Auli in district Joshimutth in 2008.

Haryana, Delhi to revitaize Yamuna

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, June 1: The Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) made a presentation of Yamuna Revitalization Project to Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda here on Friday.

The CMD of Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC), Dr Sanat Kaul, apprised the Haryana Chief Minister about the Yamuna Revitalization Project and said that this project would help in addressing the problem of water shortage in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and enhance the tourism potential for Delhi and Haryana.

Dr Kaul said that under the project, mega reservoirs would be built on the Yamuna and the Hindon rivers and by using the monsoon flows water storage would be increased.

The Haryana Chief Minister appreciated the Yamuna Revitalization Project and asked the CMD of DTTDC to examine the feasibility of the project for its implementation in Haryana.

Haryana’s Irrigation Minister, Captain Ajay Singh Yadav, the Principal Secretary to Haryana Chief Minister M.L.Tayal, Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Irrigation, R.N.Prashar, Resident Commissioner P.K.Mahaptra and senior officers of the Irrigation department Haryana also attended the meeting.

Amend Act to give Industry status to hotels: FHRAI President

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, May 25: Keeping in mind the shortage of rooms in the country, Union Tourism Minister Ambika Soni has asked Finance Minister P Chidambaram to extend the tax holiday to more regions, including the Buddhist circuits, for the hotel industry.

In the just passed Finance Bill, the Finance Minister has give a five-year holiday from income tax for new two, three or four-star hotels in Delhi and adjacent districts between April this year and March 2010 in view of the Commonwealth Games.

"The hotels should be completed and begin operations in the National Capital Territory of Delhi or in the adjacent districts of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad or Gautam Budh Nagar during the period April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2010," Chidambaram had said in his Budget speech.

In the letter, Ambika Soni asked Chidambaram to extend the tax holiday for the new hotels in the National Capital Region (NCR), tourist destinations and circuits and cities that face shortage of hotel rooms for the ever growing domestic and foreign tourists.

The new Tourism Secretary, Dr Christy Fernandez, is optimistic his Minister's views would be accepted by the Finance Ministry and the Income Tax benefit would be extended to more regions, especially Buddhist circuits, in the larger interest of the country.

Dr Fernandez said the hotel industry in the NCT of Delhi have been given infrastructure status u/s 80 ID of Income Tax Act.

However, the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) President, Mr Rajesh Mishra, continues to demand infrastructure and industry status for the hotel industry all over the country.

To give the industry status to the hotel industry, Mr Mishra, who is a qualified charter accountant, company secretary and a lawyer, said the Central Government must amend the Industrial Development and Registration Act 1951 to give i ndustry status to the hotel sector.

The FHRAI President said that the Industry status to the hotels must be given under Industries (Development & Regulation) Act, 1951 so that the Hoteliers can get the benefit of electricity at industrial rate, allotments of industrial land for construction of hotels and other benefits allowed by State governments from time to time.

He said Schedule I of this Act must be amended to include 'Hotel' then only 'Hotel' can be defined as an industrial undertaking and will get the benefits associated with Industry status.

Mr Mishra said that a few State Governments like Gujarat, West Bengal and Orissa have already declared hotel as an industry but the hotel industry was not getting the benefits of industrial rate of electricity and industrial land allotment as the Central Government has not yet included hotel in Schedule I of the Industries Development & Regulation Act.

He also urged the Government to grant infrastructure status u/s 80 IA of Income Tax Act to the Hotel industry. This would allow it a 10 years tax holiday as in the case of infra-structural projects like road, ports, power and telecommunications.

Mr Mishra said "the NCR may need 20,000 rooms for the Commonwealth Games, but India needs one lakh hotel rooms. Due to this shortage, the room tariffs are skyrocketing. The Finance Minister must take broader view of the actual shortage of rooms prevailing in the country. Therefore, he must extend the tax holiday to rest of the country and also include 5-star hotels in this scheme."

To meet the acute shortage of rooms and spiraling room rates, former TAAI President Balbir Mayal urged the Government to set up hotels on PPP (pubic private partnership) mode on urgent basis.

"Otherwise, the country will have to have heavy price as the foreign tourists will move from India to other reasonably priced destinations such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia," said Mayal from his experience.

Tourism throws a growth challenge to IT industry

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, May 22: The new Tourism Secretary, Dr Christy Fernandez, is a man with a missionary zeal. Even though the tourism sector has been showing a growth of over 20 per cent, he has put the Tourism Ministry in a mission mode so that the industry’s spill over benefits reaches the “aam aadmi”.

Soon after Dr Fernandez took over as Tourism Secretary three weeks ago, he set a target for his officers in the Ministry. The target is: Can you challenge the IT sector in the country? In other words, can you match the growth and benefits of the IT sector to the people and the country?

His team of officers led by Additional Director General Sanjay Kothari and Joint Secretary Leena Nandan readily agreed and it was decided that the Tourism Ministry will be available to the travel and tourism industry 24 x 7.

The new Secretary acknowledged that the Ministry has succeeded in putting the Indian tourism on high pedestal and repositioned itself in the world arena. Then what, he asked while speaking at a reception hosted in his honour by the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) on Monday night. Dr. A.K. Misra, former Secretary Tourism, was also bid farewell.

To challenge the IT sector, Mr Fernandez said the booming tourism sector faces two major constrains – shortage of trained manpower and wayside amenities. To achieve the new targets, he announced a paradigm shift in looking at the sector.

“Let us have a dream and re-engineer the tourism sector,” he told the gathering of the captains of the travel and tourism industry.

He announced two missions for his Ministry and the industry – Human Resources development and setting up way side amenities along the national highways and tourism destinations.

A 2004 report in the tourism and hotel industry had stated that the shortage of trained manpower in the tourism sector is to the tune of 60 per cent. Mind you, despite the over 20 per cent growth, the sector is yet to boom. So, one can figure out the challenges that would go with it.

Mr Fernandez asked “why our least educated and Wharton return boys and girls should beg for a job – any job? They should able to earn a decent living with a pride. And they sincerely want that opportunity. And they are eager to and have the ability to take risk so that they can put the country on the high growth mode.”

“What is required is we need to give them opportunity to study in good hotel management institutes,” he added.

In this direction, the new Secretary recently called a brainstorming meeting of principles of 26 leading hotel management institutes and leading chefs of the national Capital.

He also asked the private sector to come forward to set up high quality hotel management and food craft institutes so that we can provide trained and qualified young boys and girls to the industry.

Dr Fernandes hopes to announce a detailed action plan in this direction soon whereby the present 26 Central and State-run institutes would create more seats for the youth to choose a decent career with pride.

Though the country is now almost connected through North and South and East and West network of roads, he said “but we lack decent public amenities and tourist information centres.”

Dr Fernandez said “the Tourism Ministry in association with the Transport Ministry, States and Oil companies plans to launch a nation-wide programme for developing way side amenities.” He said invited large scale participation of the private sector to achieve this mission.

The IATO President, Mr Subhash Goyal, offered his association support in taking forward the new initiatives of the Ministry.

Dr Fernandez also assured his full support and efforts in resolving pending issues of the industry.

Earlier, IATO Vice President Vijay Thakur welcomed the delegates and all present.

In his speech, Mr Subhash Goyal enumerated the rich contribution of Dr. A.K. Misra to bring Indian Tourism to such higher status and global recognition. “It is through his untiring efforts, he had ensured that tour operators get the deserved service tax reduction, infrastructure status to tourism and benefits under section 80HHD, which gained the hearts of our members.”

Dr. A.K. Misra spoke about the significant role played by the Ministry of Tourism in selling India overseas and the overwhelming response to Indian tourism efforts as was visible in recently concluded ITB.

“Tourism offers immense opportunities to entrepreneurs in various segments. What was detrimental to our tourism growth is the lack of basic facilities at our monuments, pilgrimage places, tourist sites. We need to have higher involvement in improving the basic facilities by adopting such centres for improvement of facilities as government can not alone do this job. Let the trade also share the cost and state governments come forward to provide land for this purpose by forming partnership with the private sector”, said Dr. Misra.

Major Murli Dhar, IATO Senior Vice President Major Murli Dhar thanked Dr. Misra for the efforts he had made to resolve the issues pending for long time. He also thanked Dr Fernandez for taking up the issue of export industry status to tourism.

Fiji lures Indian tourists, investors

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, May 15: Fiji Finance Minister Mahendra Choudhary has invited Indian hotel and travel industry to invest in his country and offered incentives to lure Indian tourists.

During his visit to India, Choudhary met India’s Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni and discussed ways to boost tourism and culture ties between the two countries.

The visiting Minister said air connectivity between the two countries was an area where improvement is required. He said his Government was keen to invite Indian investors in hotel and hospitals sectors and currently negotiating with some big names in India in these two sectors.

Ambika Soni stressed the need to promote tourism between the two countries through package tours.

The visiting Minister urged Indian travellers to look to Fiji as a holiday destination. He said a considerable proportion of Indian travellers were goings to Australia and New Zealand and they should be encouraged to look further south. Around seven million Indians travel overseas each year, and the figure is growing at 20 percent annually.

Choudhary also had a separate meeting with Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda where they discussed matters of mutual benefit.

He also urged more Indian companies to explore investment opportunities in Fiji. He says the two governments are co-operating closely on areas of agriculture, trade, communications, health and tourism.

The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) hosted a reception in his honour. Addressing the captains of the travel and trade industry, Choudhary said that Fiji gives visa on arrivals to Indian nationals.

“The visitors are granted visas on arrival when show that their necessary travel documents are in order and have sufficient funds to sustain the trip,” he added.

Adding that Fiji has an Air Services Agreement with India, he said: "However, my government will endeavour to upgrade this to an open skies agreement, similar to the one India has in place with the US and the UK and is currently negotiating with ASEAN."

In 2005, Fiji and India had formalised an agreement on cooperation in enhancing the tourism sectors of both the countries.

"The agreement envisages that a joint tourism committee would be formed in the near future to explore avenues of enhancing trade and tourism relations between Fiji and India," Choudhary, who was also Fiji's first Indo-Fijian prime minister, said.

He talked in length about the nostalgic memories and timeless wonders of India. “Fiji offers a diversity of sports from scuba diving to sky diving. Being a small island nation with abundant natural resources, its island are blessed with year round warm weather, golden sandy beeches, clear blue water, attractive coral reef and exciting high waves. Fiji has the facilities, infrastructure and atmosphere to provide a truly unique and unforgettable vacation experience,” said Choudhary.

Recalling the age old ties with Fiji, IATO President Subhash Goyal said many of the Indian settled in Fiji several decades ago. However, they retained their original culture but adopted the local dress, behaviour, religion and language. The natives have common culture with India as represented through dance, music and custom. They have interestingly made a great unity between their local culture and of India.

Therefore, he said, one feels at home when people from India visit Fiji Islands. Fiji is a group of over 333 islands, only about 100 are inhabited by human and rests are left as natural reserves.

“Fiji is truly the hub of the south pacific region and a perfect holiday destination for Indians,” said Subhash Goyal.

Fiji High Commissioner Luke Rokovada said that entry visas are granted on arrival to Indians. Everything has been done to make the process as pleasant as possible. “Indians will find good food, local culture, shopping and one need not travel more than a few hours to get anywhere on the island. Therefore, one can enjoy many island resorts during a visit.

At present, there are four entry points when traveling between the two countries. These include flying through Australia and New Zealand or directly through Seoul or Tokyo.

Choudhary said Singapore is being eyed as a hub or transit point which will provide access to all major centres and cities in India and which is expected to alleviate some of the transit difficulties Indian nationals’ face when traveling to Fiji.

"Fiji aims to aggressively target the newly emerging markets in Asia such as India, China and Korea,'' he said. He also sees the possibility of a tourism office for Fiji to be established in India in the near future.

A colourful video presentation of Fiji Tourism was also made. It gave details of various places of tourist interest and the government initiatives to boost tourism.

IATO Vice President Vijay Thakur thanked the visiting Minister and the other members of his delegation for giving IATO an opportunity to interact with the tourism industry.

Andrew Steele is new GM at Shangri-La, New Delhi

By Sushma Arora

NEW DELHI, May 2: Mr. Andrew William Steele has been appointed the new general manager of Shangri-La Hotel, New Delhi. An Australian national, Steele is well versed with hotel management, having more than 20 years’ experience in the hospitality industry.

Starting his career in his native Australia, he went on to work in various hotels around the world, gaining experience and honing his skills.

He has successfully managed, opened and renovated hotels in Australia, England, Switzerland, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. Prior to this latest appointment at Shangri-La Hotel, New Delhi, Mr. Steele was hotel manager at Shangri-La’s largest flagship hotel in China, Pudong Shangri-La, Shanghai.

On his appointment to Shangri-La Hotel, New Delhi, Mr. Steele said, “It is with great pleasure that I take on the responsibility of becoming general manager of Shangri-La Hotel, New Delhi.”

He attributes his success thus far to persistent leadership, hard work, strong determination to excel and team work. In his new role, he is additionally entrusted with setting strong standards for the future role of Shangri-La in India.

Mr. Steele is a perfectionist with a strong sense of discipline who always aims at getting results. He is known for his generosity in sharing his management skills and leadership style to further strengthen the hotel’s management team and assist in its efforts to move forward.

He believes firmly that, today more than ever, the strength of relationships, honesty and integrity with clients decides the degree of success of any service organisation.

In his spare time, Mr. Steele enjoys golf, sailing and mountain climbing.

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific’s leading luxury hotel group, currently manages 50 hotels under the five-star Shangri-La and four-star Traders brands, with a rooms inventory of over 23,000. The group has over 40 projects under development in Canada, mainland China, India, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Seychelles, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.

Nayyar is Resident Manager ShangriLa, New Delhi

By Sushma Arora

NEW DELHI, May 5: Mr. Prameet Nayyar has joined as Resident Manager for Shangri-La Hotel, New Delhi. He brings with him 16 years of experience in Hotel and service industry. His last assignment was with Vertex as Deputy Vice President-Operations.

His drive for challenges brought him to take up various assignments during his operational career with refurbishing and turnaround of The Imperial Hotel, New Delhi, opening team member of the Marriott Welcomhotel, New Delhi and a successful stint with The Taj Mahal Hotel.

India to showcase tourism potential

DUBAI, May 1: To showcase India's potential as one of the booming tourism location, nine Indian states and 24 tour operators are participating in the four-day Arabian Travel Market 2007 in Dubai, starting on Tuesday.

The states taking part include Kerala, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Goa, Uttarakhand, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Tourism Ministry of Kerala, Uttarakhand, Assam and Jammu and Kashmir would lead their respective delegations, Indian Consul-General Venu Rajamony said.

Arabian Travel Market 2007 the Middle East's premier travel and tourism show has 2,600 exhibitors from 64 nations, marking a 24 per cent increase from last year, said Tom Nutley, chairman of the event organiser Reed Travel Exhibitions.

"The outbound potential of the Middle East, particularly the Gulf, which embraces countries with some of the world's highest per capita income, continues unabated and competition for the region's traveller is becoming very intense," he added.

Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, under whose aegis the show is being organised, said the event was significant to Dubai as it comes at a time when the country's tourism sector was booming DTMC Director (Operations and Marketing Division) Mohammed Khamis bin Hareb said, "Tourism is the country's strong economic sector and the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 places it among the six 'building blocks' for future growth."

"The total revenues of Dubai's hotel industry increased by 22.8 per cent to cross the AED 11-billion mark in 2006, with an all-time high 6.5 million guests staying in the country's 414 hotels and hotel apartments," he added.

India seeks Japan’s support for developing tourism infrastructure

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, April 30: Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni has said that India has sought Japan’s support for developing the country’s tourism infrastructure to further boost people-to-people contact.

"Every single state of India has influences of Buddhism. So, each state is looking forward to your help and your cooperation in developing places of Buddhist interest for people around the world. I can look forward to greater cooperation," Soni said at the launch of the 'Japan-India Tourism Exchange Year 2007' here on Monday.

Buddhist places of importance exist in Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

The Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has already extended a credit line of 5.4 billion rupees for building basic facilities at Buddhist centres in Uttar Pradesh.

India is also doing its best to increase tourist facilities in the country, Soni said.

“We are paying a lot of emphasis on budget hotels, on facilitation of visa facility. For the first time, we have long term visas for multiple entries, and we are now insisting on visas on arrival.”

“We have developed a partnership. In India, we are developing tourism through a partnership of the State Governments, the private players, the corporate world and the Government of India,” she added.

Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Tetsuzo Fuyushiba, appealed to India to relax visa norms for Japanese tourists.

"There are many people who have been traveling between India and Japan. It has been increasing steadily. The total number at the moment is 6.1 lakh," Fuyushiba said.

India is the largest recipient of Japanese development aid, but trade and investment between the two economies has been unspectacular.

Japanese companies have tended to focus on markets in China, Thailand and Vietnam.

Japan's trade with India in 2005 amounted to 740 billion Yen, less than four per cent of its trade with China.

Japan's foreign direct investment in India was just 11 billion Yen in the April-June quarter compared with 173 billion Yen for China.

Subhash Goyal is now 'Ambassador of Tourism'

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, April 20: Union Minister of Tourism and Culture Ambika Soni has conferred “Ambassador of Tourism Award” on Subhash Goyal, President of The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) and Chairman STIC Travels, one of India’s largest travel groups.

The award has been instituted by SATTE. It was conferred during the inaugural session of the three-day SATTE conference, which is South Asia’s biggest B2B travel and tourism exposition.

SATTE outlined the contribution of Mr. Goyal in the aviation and tourism industry in the national economy and his deep involvement in all the areas related to tourism. He is represented in the tourism committees formed by the Ministry of Tourism for various tourism development programme and his contribution as a specialist has been well acknowledged by the government and the trade.

The award recognised Goyal’s pioneering efforts and dynamic approach to develop India as a prime holiday destination both for domestic and international tourists.

He has also played an important role in the formation of India’s Open Sky policy. His company, Stic, represents good number of international carriers as GSA.

The fifth time President of IATO, Goyal is also Chairman of ASSOCHAM’s Expert Committee on Tourism and Aviation and Co-Chairman of the Civil Aviation Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (FICCI).

He is also associated with several Govt. bodies and contributes frequently to national dailies and magazines on tourism and aviation subjects. Goyal is a well-known TV personality who is frequently invited by on STAR News, ZEE News, Aaj Tak, Sahara, NDTV and Doordarshan news for interviews, discussions and talks.

Goyal is an author of book entitled “Poverty Eradication & Economic Development through Tourism” which has won him wide recognition and acclaim.

Tourism can bring peace between India and Pak

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, April 20: It was galaxy of leaders from the travel and tourism trade that adorned the inauguration of the 14th annual South Asian Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) which was attended by over 220 foreign buyers and 1,350 Indian sellers.

The presence of the three powerful women Tourism Ministers – Ambika Soni (India), Nilofer Bakhtiar (Pakistan) and Kiran Choudhary (Haryana) -- outdid everyone else.

“Time has come for women (tourism ministers) to take charge and push for people to people exchanges which will usher in peace between India and Pakistan through tourism,” thundered Nilofer Bakhtiar, Pakistan Tourism Minister, to a loud applause.

Stressing that it was very important to bring peace between two neighbours, she said this was the right time as the ice was melting. “If men cannot solve the differences then let the ladies (women ministers) take charge and bring about peace,” said Ms Bakhtiar.

Indian Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni called for better air, train and bus connectivity to promote tourism in the SAARC Region.

Ms Soni said South Asia is witnessing unprecedented economic changes and for enhanced growth rates in the region, the need for greater connectivity in terms of rail, road and air is important. She said all members of the SAARC must collectively commit to making travel easier in the region.

She said people to people contact and connectivity are the best ways to have harmonious relationship and peace in the region. She said efforts should be made to work on Tourist Circuits which will take people to at least two to three countries.

The Minister said tourism has kept pace with the overall rate of growth of the economy in India. In the last five years, foreign tourist arrivals have grown by 78 per cent and foreign exchange earnings have increased by 122 per cent.

She said although in rare terms the figures may be small as compared to many of countries in the neighborhood, what is important is that we have taken up on ourselves the challenge to unleash the full potential of the tourism sector.

She said tourism has multiplier effect on the economy as the biggest employment generator and every year the sector is said to be creative two to three million jobs – both direct and indirect.

Listing the various initiatives taken by the Government in the tourism sector with the objective of providing visitors to India with a world class experience, Ms Soni said an Advance Passenger Information System and Long Term Visas are on the anvil to facilitate tourists. Foreign investment in the tourism sector is encouraged and overseas investors are allowed to invest up to 100 per cent equity on repatriation basis.

She said India is focusing on promotion of niche segments and innovative concepts such as Rural Tourism, Medical Tourism, Conference and Convention, Cruise Tourism, Golf Tourism, Luxury Trains, wedding and Honeymoon Tourism.

In his address, Chairman, Egyptian Tourism Authority, Mr. Amr El Egaby lauded the Incredible India Campaign and efforts of the Indian Tourism Ministry to spread social awareness about preservation and cleanliness of cities and historical monuments for domestic tourists.

Mr. Amr El Egaby said his country would be happy to know the process how Forts and Havelis have been converted into Heritage Hotels in India. He also offered Egyptian expertise in the field of monument preservation. The Egyptian side also suggested twinning of the cities between India and Egypt as the two countries have many similarities on historical destinations.

Panchayati Raj and North-East Minister Mani Shankar Aiyer invited the foreign and Indian buyers to explore the huge tourism potential present in the states of North-East.

Executive Director of SATTE Navin Berry proposed a vote of thanks.

IATO’S Silver Jubilee convention in Delhi

By Deepak Arora

Pix by Noyanika

NEW DELHI, April 14: A historic convention of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), marking its 25th anniversary, will be held here from September 1, according to Mr Subhash Goyal, President of the largest body of tour operators.

The Convention would be inaugurated either by the President or the Prime Minister who were being approached to grace this occasion. A publication is also being brought out on this occasion listing IATO’s achievements during the last 25 years.

Speaking at the association’s monthly luncheon at The Park here, Goyal disclosed IATO’s talks with Finance Ministry on 90 per cent abatement on Service Tax had reached a crucial stage and the outcome was expected within a fortnight.

Asked to comment on the reports that the Finance Ministry was ready to offer 75 per cent abatement, the IATO President said “We have received no official communication as yet but anything short of 90 per cent abatement would only benefit the big tour operators and not the small tour operators.”

He added that a tour operator’s margin of profit after making all payments under the package deal towards the hotel tariffs, transport, entry fees to museums etc. was not more than 10 per cent and he should be taxed only on this margin and not more.

South Asia’s biggest travel expo set to rock industry

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, April 14: Pakistan Tourism Minister Nilofer Bakhtiar, who is facing a fatwa or religious edict from Islamist radicals for hugging her para-jumping instructor, along with her counterparts from India Ambika Soni and Egypt would be attending the inaugural session of the three-day annual SATTE conference beginning Friday.

While Ambika Soni will inaugurate South Asia’s biggest B2B travel and tourism expo at New Delhi, the function will also be attended by Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyer.

Mexico, Japan and Spain are among the exhibitors this year in the outbound segment of SATTE “Openworld”. Outbound at SATTE is gaining ground with almost 150 booths sold this year, perhaps making it the largest outbound specific event in this region.

As many as 15 countries would be exhibiting, bringing their private industry along with them to meet with their Indian counterparts. Kuwait, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Mauritius will be once again present this year as supporting countries.

The 14th annual SATTE Buyer-Seller consolidates upon the theme of “Openworld”, reflecting this huge growth curve in the business in all segments of the industry. SATTE promotes inbound, domestic, regional and outbound travel and tourism.
India has fast emerged into a major travel and tourism player and New Delhi is the new focal centre of this dramatic change.

New airlines, new routes are providing unprecedented connectivity. Incredible India is the flavour of our times. Inbound last year grew 15 per cent while outbound galloped to over 7 million, expected to cross 10 million by end 2007.

Dubai that is attending SATTE is coming with a strong Industry delegation. It will launch their India road show, kicking off with SATTE in New Delhi. Twelve organizations have registered already. Dubai has been registering steady growth from India, anxious to sustain, if not outgrow, the pace of growth registered ion recent years.

Pakistan and Egyptian Tourism Ministers will lead their respective country delegations to SATTE.

Pakistan would be leading Outbound Exhibitor at SATTE this year. The Pak Tourism Minister has been very keen to explore tourism between India and her country. Besides hosting the inaugural dinner, she will be bringing with her a huge cultural surprise for the attending buyers and sellers. Pakistan has taken an impressive country pavilion and will bring an upbeat private sector, along with PIA and PTDC to meet with their Indian counterparts.

Among the foreign hotel chains, Starwood, Accor, Hyatt and Carlson Hotel Groups are exhibiting this year, selling both Indian hotels as well as their overseas properties for the outbound.

Indian hotel space will be suitably represented by ITC Hotels, the Taj Group, Leela Hotels, the Park Hotels, Bharat Hotels, Sarovar, Jaypee and ITDC. Apart from the chains, some 50 other boutique and stand alone properties will be taking stands.

Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir are partner states this year, creating umbrella pavilions along with the private industry. Along with them, there is the theme pavilion of the North East, featuring the eight states. Over and above, we have almost every nook and corner of the country represented at SATTE 2007.

The might of the Indian travel and tourism industry will also be seen at the expo with the growing importance of the travel agent and tour operator, selling domestic, regional and outbound. As many as 250 Buyers are expected from around the world.

SAARC emphasis on Tourism Union

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, April 10: Realising the potential of tourism in improving the life of the people of South Asia, the recent SAARC Summit had called for increasing the flow of tourists amongst the eight nations of the regional union.

While emphasizing on connectivity – physical, economic and of the mind, the Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, sought to double the intra-SAARC flow of tourists in the next five years.

In his inaugural address at the 14th Summit at New Delhi, Dr Singh said the dream of full regional connectivity would not be realized merely by building roads and railways. “We must commit to actually making the travel freer and easier.”

As an immediate step, Indian Prime Minister announced a unilateral liberalization of visas for students, teachers, professors, journalists and patients from SAARC countries. India also proposed linking SAARC capitals through direct flights.

The fellow nations – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – welcomed New Delhi’s proposals that would not only boost the flow of tourists but would also help in economic development of the region.

Bangladesh Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed also called for intensifying SAARC efforts to promote the South Asia region as a common tourist hub.

Expressing similar sentiments, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said year 2007 has been named the “South Asia Year of Tourism”. He said “tourism is one of the most lucrative trades that has not been fully tapped and developed systematically in our region. Our governments need to find new avenues to develop inter-regional and intra-regional tourism in a sustainable and eco-friendly manner.”

Rajapaksa said “more intra-regional travel will promote people to people contact we have advocated for so long. Further, this initiative will help our peoples to begin to appreciate the different cultures, different religions and multitude of traditions in our region.”

Welcoming SAARC leaders’ initiative to boost tourism in the region, IATO President Subhash Goyal called for a common SAARC visa and currency.