Economic Development is intertwined with the Tourism Industry: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar
The Vice President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar graced the World Tourism Day Celebrations, organized by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, on 27th September, 2024, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The theme for this year’s World Tourism Day is ‘Tourism & Peace’.
The event also saw the august presence of Shri. Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu – Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of Tourism and Culture, Shri Suresh Gopi, Minister of State for Tourism, Petroleum & Natural Gas and Smt. V. Vidyavathi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism. In addition, Ambassadors from various Foreign Missions in India, senior officials from various Ministries and Departments of Government of India, officials from State/UT Governments, travel trade, hospitality industry, students from tourism and hospitality institutes, winners of the Best Tourism Villages Competition 2024 were present in the event.
On the occasion, the Vice President of India launched the following initiatives of Ministry of Tourism:
- Launch of Paryatan Mitra & Paryatan Didi – A National Responsible Tourism initiative across 50 tourist destinations
- Signing of MoUs between 8 leading hospitality groups and 21 Central Institutes of Hotel Management
- Announcement of Winners of Best Tourism Villages Competition 2024
- Launch of Handbook for States/UTs to grant Industry Status to Tourism & Hospitality Sector
- Launch of Incredible India Content Hub and Digital Portal
Speaking on the occasion the Vice President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar stressed on the importance of achieving the highest standards of hospitality and service excellence in tourism. He highlighted how transformation that has taken place in the last decade by doubling the number of airports, having world-class infrastructure for connectivity, highways, expressways that match the best in the world, would have a transformative impact on tourism. Shri Dhankar emphasized that economic development is intertwined with the tourist industry, with tourism. He also spoke on the profound impact of tourism on global economic development, social progress, cultural exchange and tourism as a tool for community development and congratulated the winners of the Best Tourism Villages Competition 2024.
The Minister of Tourism and Culture, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, in his address, said that Tourism is a sector which connects us all and bridges the gap between the cultures and the nations. The Minister highlighted the positive impact of the ‘Whole of Government’ approach, pioneered by the Prime Minister, on tourism. Shri Shekhawat stated that with around 1,50,000 kilometres of road network laid, ~500 new air routes & ~150 new airports having increased air connectivity, high speed Vande Bharat trains introduced, completion of around 100 tourism infrastructure projects, India’s G20 Presidency giving visibility to more than 60 destinations globally, clean destinations due to Swacch Bharat, improved convenience and digital connectivity through UPI – tourism has reached new highs due to the ‘Whole of Government’ approach.
Shri Shekhawat announced that a Masterlist of Tourism Destinations for Development will be released by Ministry of Tourism shortly, highlighting a priority list of tourism destinations which will be developed across the country in convergence with Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways over the next 3 years, in active collaboration with States/UTs. It was also mentioned that this Masterlist would be put out in the public domain to enable private sector players to plan their future investment pipelines accordingly to complement efforts of the Government.
The Minister further said that to provide a fillip to enabling global Indian diaspora become Incredible India Ambassadors through the ‘Chalo India’ campaign of Ministry of Tourism, it was announced that for the first 1,00,000 foreigners coming to India under the ‘Chalo India’ campaign, the Government of India will provide their visa on a gratis basis and waive off the visa fee.
Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri. Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu spoke on the theme India By Air. He threw light on the unanimous passing of the Delhi Declaration during the 2nd Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation. He highlighted how tourism growth hinges on air connectivity, while providing information on the impact of efforts of Ministry of Civil Aviation through UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme), Digi Yatra, increased number of airports, and other initiatives.
In her welcome speech, Smt. V. Vidyavathi spoke about the 5Ps of Tourism – People, Place, Product, Planet, and Promotion. She also stressed on recognizing how tourism value has shifted from a place to its people, and hence from Incredible India to Incredible Indians.