Government Launches New Initiatives to Boost Tourism Sector

The Union Tourism Minister, G. Kishan Reddy, along with the Minister of State for Tourism, Ajay Bhatt, recently launched several initiatives to promote tourism in India. These initiatives include the Best Tourism Village Competition Portal, the Rural Tourism Portal, and the Global Tourism Investor Summit 2023 Portal.

The Ministry of Tourism is organizing the first Global Tourism Investors' Summit from May 17-19, 2023. The aim of the summit is to showcase investment opportunities in the tourism and hospitality sector in India to both domestic and international investors. The summit is being held in the context of India's G20 Presidency this year.

In addition to this, India is also observing Visit India Year 2023, which is a unique collective movement that invites people from around the world to explore India during the historic year of India's G20 presidency and the grand celebrations of India@75 Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

During the launch event, the Union Tourism Minister highlighted the whole-of-government approach taken by the Indian Government to promote and develop the tourism sector in the country. The focus has been on improving connectivity, civic infrastructure, tourist amenities, and soft infrastructure.

India has seen a rapid revival of foreign tourist arrivals post-Covid, and the country is expected to become a major tourism destination in the world. In 2014, 76.8 lakh foreign tourists visited India, and this number increased to 1.09 crore in 2019. Despite the pandemic, the number of foreign tourists in 2022 increased to 61 lakh, and the government expects one crore foreign tourists to visit India in 2023.

The Union Tourism Minister also spoke about the phenomenal growth of domestic tourism in India, citing the example of Jammu and Kashmir, which received a record-breaking 1.84 crore tourists in 2022.

To promote spiritual destinations in the country, the Ministry of Tourism launched the PRASHAD scheme in 2015. Under this scheme, a total of 45 projects have been sanctioned for an amount of Rs. 1586.10 crore. The Ministry has also introduced the Swadesh Darshan scheme, which focuses on the integrated development of theme-based tourist circuits in the country. A total of 76 projects have been sanctioned for an amount of Rs. 5315.59 crore.

The Ministry of Tourism is working with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to improve road connectivity to various tourist destinations in the country. The Ministry is also working with the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways to promote cruise tourism, both in oceans and inland waterways. Additionally, the Ministry is working with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to promote wildlife tourism and ecotourism in the country.

The Ministry of Tourism has been closely working with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of External Affairs to ease the visa regime in the country, making it easier for tourists to visit India. The Ministry supported the launch of the e-Visa regime in 2014, which provided a major boost to inbound tourism. At present, the e-Tourist visa facility is available for the nationals of 165 countries. Post-pandemic, the Indian government also announced 500,000 free visas for tourists.

In 2019, there was a reduction in tax on hotel rooms with tariffs of ₹1,001 to ₹7,500/night to 12%, and those above ₹7,501 to 18%. This reduction in tax was aimed at increasing India's competitiveness as a tourism destination vis-à-vis other competing markets in the region.