India's tourism fabric

K.J. Alphons is the Minster of State (IC) for Tourism and Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India

How well is Indian Tourism doing in 2018, with regard to business travel and leisure?

In terms of numbers, last year we grew 15.6 per cent more than in the previous year. In terms of revenue, compared to last year we are up by 20.5 per cent. We hope to do much much better!

Do you think you have got enough depth in the hospitality industry in India?

We are short on the US$100/`6,542 per night model segment, which has typical business hotels. We’re constantly looking for ways and means to provide incentives for them to come and open. One possibility is ensuring that land comes at an a ordable cost so the room tari s can be a ordable. We’re working on such options.

And how do you get the message to the world that things are improving?

We have India Convention Promotion Bureau that has been tasked to bid and get more conferences to India. Secondly, we are focusing on specialised MICE properties. We are restructuring our work fundamentally; India Convention Promotion Bureau is the national body, but there will soon be state chapters at local levels so that it becomes a robust mechanism.

How are we doing with the airport infrastructure?

Our airports in Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai are of world-class quality with amazing infrastructure. Out of 50 airports in India, 20 are international airports. We want to either upgrade or develop around 150 more airports in the next ve years. By

2020 we are projected to become the third largest aviation market in the world. We have opened out the rural areas in the really backward regions of the country by giving licence to 363 persons to operate ights right up to the village level. I think these are fantastic moments.