New Delhi, Dec 18: The Union Government on Thursday said that development and promotion of tourism is primarily the responsibility of the State governments and Union Territory administrations. This was stated by Union Minister of Tourism and Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
Giving details about the efforts primarily necessary for development and promotion of tourism in the country, the Union Minister of Tourism said that development and promotion of tourism destinations and products is primarily undertaken by the concerned State Government (SG)/Union Territory Administration (UTA). However, the Ministry of Tourism through its central sector schemes of ‘Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0)’& ‘Challenge Based Destination Development (CBDD)’, a sub-scheme of Swadesh Darshan scheme complements the efforts of tourism infrastructure development in the country by extending financial assistance to the SGs/UTAs in synergy with the scheme guidelines, receipt of the project proposals from the concerned State Governments/Union Territory Administrations, availability of funds etc., Ministry of Tourism has revamped the Swadesh Darshan Scheme as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0) with the objective to develop sustainable tourism destinations. Accordingly, a total of 53 projects for Rs.2208.27 Crore are sanctioned under SD2.0 scheme and 36 projects for Rs.648.11 Crore are sanctioned under CBDD initiative. Under these schemes, the funds are authorized by the Ministry of Tourism for implementation of projects and is utilized by the concerned State/UT Implementing Agency.
The Minister said that information on tourist destinations in the country is promoted through the Incredible India Digital Portal. Also, Ministry of Tourism has launched the Incredible India Content Hub on the revamped Incredible India digital portal (www.incredibleindia.gov.in). The Incredible India Content Hub is aimed to be a comprehensive digital repository of high-quality images, films, brochures and newsletters which can be easily accessed by the industry stakeholders (travel media, tour operators, travel agents) across the globe, required to amplify Incredible India in all their marketing and promotional efforts. In addition to this, Ministry of Tourism also promotes tourism in India through various initiatives including events, social media and campaigns.
He stated that the Ministry of Tourism, through the Capacity Building for Service Providers (CBSP) scheme, provides education, training, and certification to tourism service providers at various levels of the hospitality sector to upgrade skills, enhance employability. To further enhance the tourist experience, the Ministry also offers the Incredible India Tourist Facilitator (IITF) Certification Programme, a Pan-India online learning initiative, and implements a national responsible tourism initiative titled Paryatan Mitra/Paryatan Didi.
Presently, e-visa facility under nine sub-categories is available to nationals of 171 countries for entry through 31 designated international airports and 06 major seaports. Processing of e-visa is totally on the online platform, the Union Minister of Tourism said.
He continued that Ministry of Tourism is working very closely with Ministry of Civil Aviation for improving the air connectivity to important tourist destination and to lesser known/new destinations with high potential. It has coordinated with Ministry of Civil Aviation under their Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS-Udan) and sharing the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) amount for 53 tourism routes identified for this purpose.
He concluded that to give fillip to private investment in tourism, three-star or higher category classified hotels located outside cities with population of more than 1 million, ropeways & cable cars and Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre Projects with minimum built-up floor area of 100,000 square metres of exclusively exhibition space or convention space or both combined, have been included in the Harmonized Master List of infrastructure sub-sectors.
