Government of India

MINISTRY OF TOURISM

QUARTERLY e- NEWSLETTER

Vol. 7, January-March, 2018

TOURISM- A FIGURATIVE STATUS

The Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during

January-March, 2018 were 3.13 million

(Provisional) as compared to 2.78 million during

the same period in 2017, showing a growth of

12.4%.

The Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) through

tourism for the Quarter were ₹52,916 Crores

(Provisional) as compared to ₹45,819 Crores in the

corresponding period in 2017, registering a growth

of 15.5 %.

In US$ terms, the FEEs stood at US $8.23 billion

(Provisional) during January-March, 2018 as

compared to US $6.83 billion in 2017 for the same

period registering a growth of 20.4 %.

The FTAs on e- Tourist Visa were 7,61,698 during

January-March, 2018 as compared to 4,67,314

during January-March, 2017 registering a growth of

63.0 %.

Schemes/ Initiatives

Under PRASHAD Scheme, one project for

Development of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh was

sanctioned at Rs.62.82 Crore in February, 2018 and a project for the development of Trimbakeshwar

was approved at an estimated cost of Rs. 37.81

Crore.

IMPORTANT EVENTS

Bharat Parv

Ministry of Tourism organized “Bharat Parv” at Red

Fort, Delhi from 26th to 31st January, 2018, as part

of the Republic Day Celebrations. The major

attractions at Bharat Parv were Republic Day

Tableaux, Cultural Performances, Armed Forces

Bands and Food and Craft stalls.

The prime objective of organizing the event is to

generate a patriotic mood, promote rich cultural

diversity of the country, to ensure wider

participation of the general public and to popularize

the concept of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’, ‘Dekho

Apna Desh’ and ‘Tourism for All’.

Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Hon’ble Minister of Culture

(I/C) & Minister of State (Ministry of Environment,

Forest and Climate Change) was the Chief Guest

and Shri K.J. Alphons, Hon’ble Minister of State for

Tourism (I/C) & Minister of State (Ministry of

Electronics & IT) presided over the closing

ceremony of Bharat Parv.

The cultural performances included choreographed

Folk/ Tribal Dances and Music arranged through

North Zone Cultural Centre as well as

performances by cultural troupes from different

States/UTs.

The Food Court had stalls set up by the States/UTs,

National Association of Street Vendors of India

(NASVI) and Institutes of Hotel Managements and

India Tourism Development Corporation. Cuisines

of different States/UTs were promoted through live

cookery demonstrations.

The Craft Mela with around 50 stalls were set up by

State Governments and Ministry of Textiles to

showcase the diverse handicrafts of the country.

There were Theme State Pavilions where each State

showcased their strengths along with tourism

products. Besides this, an exhibition on the theme

‘Naya Bharat Hum Karke Rahenge’ was set up by

Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity

(DAVP).

Promotional Activities

Ministry of Tourism released Internation

al campaign to promote country’s tourism

products among Indian Diaspora in

International feeds of prominent Indian

Channel such as Zee, Sony, Aaj Tak, Colors

and NDTV. In addition, the

regular International campaign of the

Ministry of Tourism was extended to the

mainstream International TV Channels such

as CNN, BBC, Discovery+TLC, NGC,

Euro News, Tabi, CBS, CNBC and History

in order to maintain the continuity of

the existing campaign.

Ministry of Tourism through SPIC MACAY

organized a music series in Varanasi, Delhi

and Kochi. The Incredible India Heritage

Series were held over a period of 6

weekends with the objective to promote the

rich cultural heritage of the country and to

reinforce the principle of ‘Tourism for All’.

The music programmes were organized at

Assi Ghat, Varanasi on 24th & 25th March,

2018 and Humayun’s Tomb, New Delhi on

17th & 18th March, 2018 which included

classical as well as folk music performances.

Besides this, Ministry also participated in various

events which inter- alia include the following: -

Ministry of Tourism attended the

Internationale Tourisme-Bourse (ITB)-2018

held at Berlin, Germany during 07th March

to 11th March, 2018, one of the biggest

Travel and Tourism Mart in the World.

More than 45 stakeholders comprising State

Governments/UT Administration, tour

operators, hotels/resorts, Air India, IRCTC

etc. participated as co-exhibitors from the

India pavilion to showcase their various

tourism destinations/products.

India won the Best Exhibiter Award at the

Internationale Tourisme-Bourse (ITB) -

2018 under the category of Asia, Australia

and Oceania.

On this occasion, Ministry released the

Incredible India Campaign Film ‘Yogi of the

Racetrack’ promoting Yoga which got over

20 million viewers on the internet.

Ministry also attended the FITUR (Feria

Internacional De Turismo) during 17th to

21st January 2018 in Madrid, Spain, which

is a leading global event. 33 travel trade

partners, including seven State Tourism

Departments, Hotels, Travel Agencies,

Resorts and Operators from India

participated in the said event.

Ministry of Tourism highlighted the

initiatives of identifying, diversifying,

developing and promoting niche products

viz. Golf Tourism, Rural Tourism,

Adventure Tourism, Cruise Tourism &

MICE. The Ministry of Tourism projected

India as a year round “must visit-must re-

revisit destination at the FITUR 2018.

Minister of State for Tourism (Independent

Charge), attended the 8th ASEAN-India

Tourism Ministers’ 2018 meeting held at

Chiang Mai, Thailand on 26th January,

2018.

The ministers agreed to further enhance

ASEAN-India cooperation in tourism under

the framework of the 2012 Memorandum of

Understanding between ASEAN and India

on strengthening Tourism Cooperation

with intensified efforts and activities.

Ministry of Tourism released a TV

campaign to promote ‘Swachchata at

Tourist Places’ on Private Channels through

National Film Development Corporation. A

Swachchata Campaign was undertaken on

railway tickets through DAVP.

Ministry of Tourism also undertook a

campaign on Air India Boarding Passes to

promote the Multi-lingual Tourist Helpline

of the Ministry.

Iconic Tourist Sites

Ministry has initiated work on development of

prominent tourist sites into Iconic Tourism

destinations by following a holistic approach

involving infrastructure and skill development,

development of technology, attracting private

investment, branding and marketing. During this

quarter, stakeholder consultation meetings were

held at Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri, Humayun Tomb,

Qutub Minar, Red Fort, Khajuraho, Kaziranga, and

Kumarakom for development of Iconic Tourist

Sites.

ACTIVITIES OF INDIA TOURISM

OFFICES OVERSEAS

India Tourism London organised a Know India

Seminar on 21st March in London with an objective

of promoting India as a MICE destination. Air India

and Etihad Airlines were the other presenters at the

seminar.

India Tourism, Singapore has undertaken the

following Outdoor branding starting from March

2018:

Outdoor Advertisement at Dhoby Ghaut

Train station at Singapore for 04 weeks

starting from 19th March 2018.

The Online promotion was given in IndiaSe,

Travelport, Asian Geographic and World

Travel Magazine

India Tourism Tokyo has conducted Know India

Seminars jointly with Indian Mission in Japan and

Korea at the following cities:

In Busan on 7th, March, 2018

In Ulsan on 8th March, 2018 and

In Incheon on 9th March, 2018

In Fukuoka on 11th Mar., 2018

In Tokyo on 14th Mar., 2018

In Naha-city, Okinawa on 16th Mar., 2018

Other important activities of India

Tourism Offices Overseas

India Tourism Offices Overseas Participated in the

following events:

India Tourism Paris participated in the Bolsa

de Turismo De Lisboa (BTL), 2018 held in

Lisbon, Portugal during 28th February to

04th March 2018.

India Tourism Sydney participated in the

Holiday & Cruise Expo in Perth during 17th

– 18th March 2018, the Route Asia 2018,

held at Brisbane during 18th – 20th March

2018 and Indian Festival during 24th to 25th

March 2018 in Melbourne

India Tourism Tokyo has participated in

Guangzhou International Travel Fair 2018

in Guangzhou, China during 1st to 3rd

March, 2018.

ACTIVITIES OF DOMESTIC

REGIONAL OFFICES

India Tourism- South

Ministry of Tourism launched a Social Media Key

Influencers Campaign of “The Great India Blog

Train” involving Travel Bloggers from across the

world on 7th February 2018 at Safdarjung

Railway Station, New Delhi.

The objective of the campaign is to position

luxury trains of India as a unique tourism product

both in the domestic and overseas markets by

way of blogs, videos and photos published by the

bloggers/ Instagramers on their experiences of

their journey.

A total number of 60 Bloggers from 23 countries

including India started travelling on a week long

journey on four luxury trains i.e. Palace on

Wheels -Rajasthan, Maharaja Express(Delhi),

Deccan Odyssey(Mumbai-Maharashtra) and

Golden Chariot- (Bangalore -Karnataka) in

groups of 15 Bloggers on each train.

Mrs. Meenakshi Sharma, Additional Director

General (Tourism), Govt. of India had an

interactive session with the bloggers.

A meeting with the stakeholders under the

chairmanship of Hon’ble Union Tourism

Minister was held on 17th March 2018.

Indiatourism Hyderabad participated in “Wings

India 2018” the flagship event on Civil Aviation

held at Begumpet Old Airport Hyderabad.

Shri. Satyajeet Rajan, Director General

(Tourism) participated in the event.

The 12th UNWTO Asia / Pacific Executive

Training programme on Tourism Policy and

Strategy was held during 19th to 22nd March

2018 at Kovalam, Trivandrum.

Hon’ble Minister of State for Tourism (I/C)

inaugurated the training programme on 18th

March 2018.

Delegates from 16 countries participated in this

training programme.

India Tourism North East

Government of Assam organized the Global

Investor Summit Advantage Assam,2018 at

Sarosajai Stadium, Guwahati on 3-5 February,

2018.

The Hon’ble Prime Minister and the Hon’ble

Minister of State for Tourism (I/C) had graced

the occasion.

Indiatourism and IITTM, Bhubaneswar jointly

organized Tourism Awareness Programme

under Swachhta Action Plan (SAP) during 12th

to 17th March, 2018 with stakeholders/ School

Students and local vendors at Sibsagar,

Haflong, Pobitora.

Regional Director(NE), Indiatourism,

Guwahati attended the National conference on

Livelihoods through Rural Tourism in North

East India, on 7th January, 2018 at Greenwood

Resorts, Guwahati, Assam.

India Tourism West

Indiatourism Mumbai participated in Outbound

Travel Mart (OTM) 2018 held at Mumbai during

18th to 20th of January, 2018 which was

inaugurated by Hon’ble Minister of State for

Tourism (I/C).

OTM 2018 saw participation from more than

1,000 exhibitors from a record number of 50

countries. More than 800 buyers and 15,000

travel trade visitors attended. 17 State Govts,

570 plus travel trade, 380 plus hospitality

members etc. participated in OTM 2018.

Indiatourism Mumbai participated in Global

Konkan Exhibition held at Navi Mumbai from

6th to 10th January, 2018. The exhibition

highlighted the Konkan Region of the State of

Maharashtra which is an upcoming Tourist

Destination in the Western Region.

Ministry of Tourism, Government of India

organized a debriefing session in Mumbai with

Director General of Tourism and Principal

Secretary (Tourism), Govt of Maharashtra for

the 15 Bloggers travelling on Deccan Odyssey as

a part of “The Great Indian Blog Train”

campaign. The session was organised on board

the luxury liner ''Costa Neo Classica''

These well-known bloggers are being hosted in

India by the Government of India, Ministry of

Tourism in collaboration with the IRCTC and

State Governments.

India Tourism East

Indiatourism Kolkata organized two Sensitization

Workshops on Bed & Breakfast Scheme of the

Ministry of Tourism at Jhargram in collaboration

with IHM Kolkata & Jhargram Hotel Owner’s

Welfare Association.

Indiatourism Bhubaneswar welcomed the Four

Women Motorbike Expedition Team who were

on their 50 days and 16,992 kms long expedition

starting from Hyderabad covering countries in

South Asia and ASEAN region to promote

tourism in India.

India Tourism North

India Tourism North participated in the Travel

Agents Associations of India (TAAI)

Convention held during 27th to 30th March,

2018, in Srinagar. The convention focused on

Tourism as major thrust.

India Tourism office distributed the tourist

information and publicity material to the

visitors in the Ministry’s sponsored Hero Indian

Open Golf Championship held at the DLG Golf

and Country Club during 8th to 11 March

2018.

Besides this, India Tourism North participated

in the following important events:

SAATE 2018 held in Pragati Maidan,

New Delhi during 31st January to 2nd

February 2018

“Vision Jammu & Kashmir 2018” held

during January 29th to 31st 2018 at

Udhampur in Jammu & Kashmir

Adventure Sports Expo at Airocity held

during 27th to 29th January 2018.

www.tourism.gov.in www.incredibleindia.org

24×7 Toll-free Tourist Helpline Number: 1800-11-1363 Short Code: 1363

Languages supported: English, Hindi, Arabic, French, German, Italian, Spanish Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Portuguese and Russian.

Edited by: MARKET RESEARCH DIVISION (Ministry of TOURISM)