Ministry of Tourism bets on world-class infra to boost tourist traffic

Ministry of Tourism (MoT) is according high priority for holistic development of tourism destinations into world class destinations using a cluster approach including development of infrastructure, amenities, interpretation centres and skill development by achieving synergy and convergence with other Central Ministries, State Governments and Industry Stakeholders. The result had been a significant rise in the arrival of both domestic and foreign tourists in various tourist destinations across the country. Our Special Correspondent Ajay K Chaturvedi talks to Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) K J Alphons to know about the future tourism Roadmap for India: Excerpts:

WIC- Do you have any plan to formulate a New Tourism Policy, because NTP@002 is quite old and a 15 year policy cannot meet the new challenges?

KJ Alphons- Yes , a new Tourism policy is in the pipe line. Focus will be on employment generation with community participation, especially people in general. This will help development of tourism in a sustainable and responsible manner. New policy will also help India as a must Experience and Transformational Destination for foreign and domestic tourists. As envisaged by the Prime Minister, the major focus will on domestic travel preservation of the varied cultural heritage of our nation. Along with traditional areas new products such  as Medical & Wellness, Meetings, Conferences, Exhibitions, Adventure Sports, Golf, Cruise etc will be given due attention to attract tourists. The development of quality human resources and use of technology are the other major points which require more attention.

WIC- What is the progress of "Swadesh Darshan" and "Prasad" schemes which were launched by the present govt?

KJ Alphons- The objective of these schemes is to create the basic infrastructure at the tourist destinations. We have made commendable progress in this area. These schemes were launched in January 2015 and as on date, the Ministry has sanctioned 67 projects worth Rs 6528 crore. A total of 30 projects would be ready by December this year. Each project costs Rs 100 crore. Under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, all 29 states and UTs are covered and various thematic circuits are being developed. Under the Prasad Scheme, the Ministry has sanctioned 23 projects in 15 states.

WIC- In 2017, MoT announced to develop the "Ramayana' and "Buddha" circuits. What is the present status of these projects and when these circuits will be operational?

KJ Alphons- Ramayana circuit is one of the 15 thematic circuits identified for development. The destinations identified for  development under Ramayana Circuit are- Ayodhya, Nandigram, Shringverpur and Chitrakoot(UP), Sitamarhi, Buxur and Darbhang(Bihar), Chitrakoot(MP),Mahendragiri(Odisha), Jagdalpur(Chhattisgarh),Nagpur & Nashil(Maharastra), Bhadrachalam(Telangana), Hampi( Karnataka) and Rameshwaram(TN). Under Buddhist Circuit, all the sites associated with the heritage of Lord Buddha in MP,UP, Bihar, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh are covered.

WIC- It’s good that arrival of foreign tourists have increased many fold. Could you please tell, as per govt decision,  that how much SIM cards were given to foreign tourists on arrival?

KJ Alphons- Foreign Tourist arrivals in India increased by 15.17% last year against the global figure of 5%. Foreign tourists' arrival in 2017 were 10.18 million with a growth of 15.6% over 2016. The scheme of providing free pre-loaded SIM cards to foreign tourists arriving in India on a e- Visa was launched in February 2017. The objective was to provide connectivity to foreign tourists immediately on their arrival. On a pilot basis, two locations were selected namely Delhi and Kochi, A total of 5019 and 3685 SIM cards were at these airports respectively. In SIM cards distribution, private operators were involved.

WIC-   Under “Adopt a Heritage: Apni Dharohar, Apni Pehchaan” project, how many monuments would be developed? Will these monuments be developed by private agencies or by the Govt?

KJ Alphons- This project, which was launched in September 2017, aims to effectively promote " responsible tourism". We are encouraging PSUs, RWAs, Pvt Companies, Schools and Individuals to take up responsibilities for making our heritage and tourism more sustainable. This could be achieved through development and maintenance of world class tourist infrastructure and amenities at ASI protected sites and other important  tourists' sites  across India. ‘Monument Mitras’ has been selected to nourish  the sites and look after the operation and maintenance of these amenities. The project focusses on providing basic amenities including cleanliness, public convenience, drinking water, Wi-Fi, illumination, signage and ease of access for tourists and advance amenities like Tourist Facilitation Centres, Souvenir shop, cafeteria etc. Private sectors are being associated to develop facilities and infrastructures but for that they have to take prior permission from ASI. One thing is very clear that conservation of these monuments/ heritage sites shall primarily be carried out by ASI/concern state agencies.

WIC- At how many places Cruise Tourism will be developed?

KJ Alphons-The idea behind Cruise Tourism to attract tourists with specific interest. The important feature of the initiative is to develop India as a destination as well as source market for Cruise Tourism, to increase the number of cruise shipping calls and passenger arrivals and to have a conducive fiscal regime for cruise ships through development of cruise terminals and related developments. This is a joint initiative of Ministries of Shipping and Tourism. The four major ports of the country- Mumbai, Mormugao, Vishakhapattanam and  Cochin  have been developed with dedicated terminals and Jetties for the purpose. Mumbai port is almost ready and will be operational by the end of this year.

WIC- MoT has plan to appoint trained  tourist guides at tourists places. Kindly give progress of this plan?

KJ Alphons- We have liberalized the guidelines. We are making it simple because we required much larger numbers of tourists guides. MoT has chalk out a plan to appoint trained tourists guides at tourists places. We need educated youths who are proficient in foreign languages especially, Japanese and Mandarin.