Port Blair, Apr 03: Mr. Girish Arora, President of the Hoteliers Association of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Executive Member of Hotel & Restaurant Association of Eastern India (HRAEI) attended a two day Chintan Shivir ‘Tourism in Mission Mode: Convergence and Public Private Partnership’ on behalf of the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) which was organized by Ministry of Tourism, GoI on 28th -29th March 2023 at The Hotel Ashok, New Delhi. Lieutenant Governor, A&N Islands Admiral D K Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, NM, VSM (Retd.) and Mr. Nikhil Kumar, Principal Secretary, IP&T and Mr. Anand Vardhan Mishra, Director (Tourism) A & N Administration represented the A&N Islands.
Mr. G Kishan Reddy, Minister of Tourism, Culture and DoNER addressed the participants of the Chintan Shivir and shared insightful thoughts and strategies that can be adopted nationally to implement Tourism in Mission Mode in India. He stated that the government is on a mission and the tourism sector should aspire to contribute USD 3 trillion to the country’s GDP by 2047, when India will be celebrating 100 years of its independence. Government to use tourism as a vehicle for socio-economic development, job creation and achieving sustainable development goals for the country.
Mr. Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, shared about the upcoming 1st Global Tourism Investors Summit and the valuable inputs that have been received from stakeholders to carry forward the mission of growth in India’s tourism sector. Several line Ministries like Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways, Ministry of Port, Shipping and Waterways, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Ministry of Jal Shakti, World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Industry Associations and Industry leaders from FICCI, FHRAI, CII, FAITH, IATO, ATOAI, HCVB, Invest India shared their plans to develop various natural and cultural attractions under their control in consultation and partnership with Ministry of Tourism so that the same could be marketed and promoted to the domestic and foreign travelers. Further, he restated that the 1st Global Tourism Investors Summit (GTIS), under the aegis of India’s G20 Presidency will be held in New Delhi from 17th -19th May 2023. It will serve as a platform to enable interaction between global and domestic business leaders and explore investment opportunities in the Indian Tourism and Hospitality sector and the Chintan Shivir will also provide significant inputs for conducting business during upcoming GTIS.
During the session, it was emphasized that the private sector will play a leading role in the development of the tourism sector. Public and Private sector can support each other in their respective roles and forge mutually rewarding partnership will be key to promoting India as a Global Tourist Destination. Deliberations in different Sessions included the topics of Convergence of Government Programs in developing different sectors, Developing Home stays, Souvenirs, and Tourist Guides and Developing Adventure Tourism and Rural Tourism in the Country.
In the session, some of the best practice of various state very highlighted and it was suggested that the same shall be taken up for replication by other states such as grant of Industry Status to tourism and hospitality sector by Rajasthan, Lakshadweep as a success story for PPP, measures to Ease of Doing Business in Tourism and Hospitality by Andhra Pradesh, 100% exemption on land conversion charges, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. The session ended with productive discussions on a wide range of challenges and opportunities for the tourism sector’s development, with active participation from states, industry associations, and industry leaders.
Mr. Girish Arora said, it is a great initiative by the Ministry of Tourism, the first time such initiatives have been taken where GoI put Tourism on the centre stage. Focus on rural tourism development, nearly 6 lakh villages will be opened and developed across India for rural tourism. This will benefit rural economic growth. The GoI has asked all the states to share a list of investable projects to be taken on PPP mode to be presented for the Global Tourism Investors Summit. He also shared that the Secretary (Tourism) emphasized that the government should be a facilitator rather than a regulator and should work towards enabling a regulatory ecosystem.
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