64 REGION ASIABROUGHT TO YOU BY A SPIRITUALLY ENHANCING, CULTURALLY ENRICHING, PHYSICALLY INVIGORATING AND MENTALLY REJUVENATING EXPERIENCE. Yogendra Tripathi Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India India develops new multi-pronged tourism approach Exclusive interview: Yogendra Tripathi, Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, the Government of India Yogendra Tripathi was recently named as Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism for the Government of India. We asked him firstly how international tourism is progressing in India, and how he could describe the nation’s current key performance indicators. Tourism in India is certainly very promising with an encouraging growth in Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) to India in the recent years. Foreign Tourist Arrivals in the year 2017 were 10.04 million, a growth of 14 % over 2016. Foreign Exchange Earning through tourism was €24.04bn, a growth of 19.1% over 2016. India aims to continue with this growth rate in foreign tourist arrivals in the coming years through a multi-pronged approach, including proactive marketing strategies in partnership with the tourism stakeholders in the India’s tourism and hospitality industry. India is also looking at promoting in short haul markets in a big way to maintain the high growth rates of recent past. Standards have recently been drawn up in India for B&B and Homestay establishments. What impact do you feel this will have on tourism growth? There is a growing trend of more and more travellers seeking to embark on experiential tourism and preferring to be a part of something unique. Tourists want their experiences to be completely different, want to understand and be a part of the culture and heritage of the destination they ITB BERLIN NEWS • Wednesday 6 th March 2019 seek to discover. The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India with a view to provide opportunity for foreign tourists to stay with an Indian family to experience Indian customs & tradition and to provide a clean and affordable place for tourists has framed the Common National Standards and Guidelines for Classification of Incredible India Bed & Breakfast Establishments and Incredible India Homestay Establishments. This initiative is going to have a huge impact on growth of tourism to India and will go a long way in supplementing the availability of accommodation across destinations in India. How is tourism infrastructure being developed, and what’s new in this respect? Various initiatives underway in the tourism sector aim at providing visitors to “Incredible India” with a world-class experience that differentiates itself as a spiritually enhancing, culturally enriching, physically invigorating and mentally rejuvenating experience. In the last 3 to 4 years, India has committed a sum of nearly €860m under two major schemes of the Ministry of Tourism for development of tourism circuits, preservation and maintenance of monuments, human resource development, Information Technology, etc. In addition, a large sum of money has been invested expanding and modernising our infrastructure in airports and airlines, railways, national highways, hotels and transport, to ensure that visitors to our country have the most memorable time. A total of 17 prominent tourist sites are being developed into iconic tourism destinations by following a holistic approach involving infrastructure and skill development, progress in technology, attracting private investment, branding and marketing. You recently launched a Tourist Facilitator Certification Programme? What is this programme all about? The Ministry of Tourism is fully aware that the concept of “tourist guide” has changed the world over and the new age tourist facilitators are “story tellers”. Keeping this in mind, the Ministry of Tourism has rolled out the Incredible India Tourist Facilitator Certification (IITFC) Programme in New Delhi to enable Indian citizens to develop and enhance the skills associated with tourism, and where one can incorporate knowledge about facilitating tourists visiting the country. The certification programme comprises basic and advanced self-paced courses designed in a manner that the users can learn in their own time, space, path and pace. The basic course, comprising of 7 modules, is aimed at training the facilitators for knowledge, skills and attitude domains Hall 5.2b / Stands 205, 205a www.itb-berlin-news.com
BROUGHT TO YOU BY ASIA REGION 65 Gujarat celebrates Gandhi anniversary The Mahatma’s birth, 150 years ago, is source of major festivities Jenu Devan Commissioner of Tourism, Government of Gujarat & Managing Director, Tourism Corporation of Gujarati 2019 marks the 150 th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi. We asked Jenu Devan, Commissioner of Tourism, Government of Gujarat & Managing Director, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat to tell us more about this year’s celebrations. We have always focused on holding events and celebrations that work towards preservation and conservation of our state’s cultural heritage. The celebration of the Mahatma’s 150th birth anniversary is very significant considering the extremely important position that he holds in the history of our country. How important is the city of Ahmedabad as a major source of attraction for tourists and why? Ahmedabad has been declared India’s first World Heritage City by UNESCO recognising its heritage value. Ahmedabad is known for its architectural marvels of Pol structures and other beautiful tourist locations. It is also known for the elegant carvings in its Hindu and Jain temples and is standing as one of the finest examples of Indo-Islamic architecture and Hindu Muslim art. What are the three “key selling points” of the region? Asiatic Lions: Besides Africa, Gir in Gujarat is the only place in the world where you can spot lions roaming free in the wild; Shri Mahatma Gandhi: Gujarat is not only the birth place of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi but has also been the site of many important activities of the much revered Indian patriot and politician; Statue of Unity: The world’s tallest statue, twice the height of the Statue of Liberty in the US, was unveiled on October 31, 2018 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat’s Narmada district on the birth anniversary of an Iron Man of India, Shri Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. What is your message to the world’s travel professionals present at ITB? There are several unique tourist destinations and picturesque spots in our state that are bound to impress international travellers. Through ITB, we want to reach out to everyone related to the international travel industry and give them a glimpse of our beautiful state Hall 5.2b / Stands 205, 205a ITB BERLIN NEWS • Wednesday 6 th March 2019
