‘Conference of Tourism and Culture Ministers of Southern Region’ successfully concludes in Bengaluru
After a successful two-day conference of ‘Tourism and Culture Ministers of NorthEastern States’ in September 2021 in Guhawati, the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) organised a ‘Tourism & Culture Ministers Conference of the Southern Region’ event from October 28-29, 2021 in Bengaluru, with the aim to highlight and apprise the industry stakeholders about the Heritage & Cultural Tourism initiatives, Skill Development, the potential of Cruise Tourism of the Southern States and UTs.
G. Kishan Reddy, Hon. Minister of Tourism, Culture and DoNER, inaugurated the two days’ conference of Tourism and Culture Ministers of the Southern Region at Taj Westend in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Minister of State, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and MoS in Ministry of Information & Broadcasting Dr. L. Murugan; Minister of State, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Bhagwanth Khuba, and Minister of State for Tourism, GoI, Ajay Bhatt were other dignitaries present at this event. Secretary Culture, GOI, Govind Mohan and senior officials from various Central Ministries, State Governments, Union Territory Administrations (UTs), media, and industry stakeholders were also present.
The inaugural session was also attended by Tourism Ministers of all Southern states and senior tourism officials of these states. Speaking on the occasion, G. Kishan Reddy said that under the Prime Minister’s guidance and leadership, it took us only 281 days to administer 100 crore COVID vaccine doses. There can be no bigger confidence booster for the revival of tourism other than vaccination. “Tourism & Culture Ministers Conference of the South Indian Region’s main objective was to discuss and deliberate on the tourism development strategy for the region in line with the Prime Minister’s idea of Cooperative Federalism - where the Government of India and the state governments come together to find solutions for a better India,” Reddy added.
Reddy said that he truly believes that the Southern Region is unique in its offerings and Ministry has laid special emphasis on developing infrastructure, on-ground capacity and skills. Reddy also informed that under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, which focuses on integrated development of theme-based tourist circuits; the Ministry has sanctioned 15 projects in the Southern States worth `1088 crores. “Under the PRASHAD scheme (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive), the Ministry has sanctioned 6 projects in the region that amounts to 15 per cent of the entire scheme budget,” he added.
Reddy further informed that recently, the Ministry of External Affairs at the request of the Ministry of Tourism has appointed dedicated twenty Tourism Officers in Indian Missions abroad. This will enable them to widely promote Indian tourism in countries such as Australia, Canada, the USA, France, Germany, and Gulf countries. “India’s civilisation heritage goes back to many thousands of years and this Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is also an opportunity to pay a tribute to all those people that fought for the preservation of our heritage,” he added.
Dr. L. Murugan highlighted the importance of Religious and Spiritual Tourism in the development of the tourism sector. Murugan said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown keen interest in the tourism sector. His vision of developing India as a multi-modal tourist destination is now being executed. “Each state of India has a unique potential of contributing to this vision of PM Narendra Modi,” he added.
Murugan also stated, “As we are celebrating ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, it is our duty to encourage the younger generations to visit the memorial of these freedom fighters and devote themselves to the service to the nation.”
Minister of State for Tourism and Defence, Ajay Bhatt said, “Culture and tourism complement each other in today’s changing world. If culture is the soul of any society, tourism is the medium of understanding and knowing that society. If our culture is rich, then tourism is the means of demonstrating
this prosperity. That is why it is necessary to see culture and tourism as two sides of the same coin. The people of South India have understood this very well, and that is why there has often been a very good development in the field of tourism here.” Bhatt also highlighted the impact of 100 crore vaccination on the tourism sector.
During the first day, Rupinder Brar, ADG, Ministry of Tourism, also gave a presentation on the various projects/initiatives/programmes being under-taken for the creation of tourism infrastructure, marketing and promotion, and skill development programmes in the Southern Region. After that Director General, Archaeological Survey of India, and Ministry of Tourism, V. Vidyavathi gave a presentation on heritage projects, monuments, and other cultural initiatives in the Southern Region. Potential of Cruise Tourism and Rail Tourism in the Southern Region and opportunity in Southern Region State-wise/UT-wise presentations were also given.
The Ministry of Tourism promotes India as a holistic destination on various platforms in digital, print and social media. Since April 2020, under the ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ campaign, the Ministry of Tourism is conducting webinars on various tourism products, including dedicated webinars on States and UTs of the Southern Region. The connectivity by air, rail and road to various destinations in the region is excellent and sought-after destinations by many.
The Ministry of Tourism has concentrated on the issues of skill development in the tourism sector, creating a pool of well-trained and professional ‘Tourist Facilitators’ is essential for providing world-class services to the tourists, promotion and marketing for creating awareness about the destination in the domestic and international markets.
During the sessions, speakers spoke about the various challenges faced by the sector in each region of southern states. Most of the Tourism Ministers spoke about their unique products, infrastructure development, skill development and sought budgets from the union minister for the specific projects. They also discussed the challenges and measures to boost tourism while maintaining the culture of the region. Presentations were also made by the Secretaries and Directors of the southern states.
As domestic tourism is showing a great surge in the last few months and as the borders will be open for international tourists soon, building the confidence and trust of the tourists is extremely important. In this connection, the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Tourism have already notified COVID-19 Safety and Hygiene protocols. The Ministry has put in place a System for Assessment, Awareness and Training in Hospitality Industry (SAATHI) to ensure compliance with COVID- 19 safety and hygiene guidelines and to ensure safety and health of employees/customers. The SAATHI initiative aims to assist in the preparedness of hotels to continue operations safely and also restore the confidence of guests and enhance the image of the hotel as a responsible hotel. As of date, more than 10,000 accommodation units have registered under SAATHI. The hotel units from States and UTs of the Southern region have shown a good response in registering their units on the portal to follow the necessary protocols.
Ministry of Tourism undertakes development of infrastructure at tourist destinations across the country under its infrastructure development schemes viz. Swadesh Darshan (SD) and PRASHAD (National
Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive). In Swadesh Darshan Scheme 76 projects have been sanctioned across India which also includes projects from the Southern Region States and UTs. Under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, projects have been sanctioned in different themes such as Coastal Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Eco Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, etc. Under PRASHAD Scheme, 37 projects have been sanctioned in India which also includes projects from the Southern States. These efforts are expected to culminate in a major fillip to the tourism sector in the region.
G. K. V. Rao, DG Tourism, GOI, proposed the vote of thanks. Later, a gala dinner was hosted by the Honourable Minister of Karnataka at Taj Westend. A number of travel trade delegates from Bengaluru were seen and most of the tourism ministers were not only present but also seen interacting with media and delegates during the evening. Many cultural performances were organised and the event’s highlight were the folk dances.
On the second day, the media was taken to Mysore by KSTDC Volvo coaches. All the accommodations were provided by KSTDC and Jungle Lodges. On the way to Mysore, the famous Tipu Sultan’s summer house was shown at Srirangapatna. Prominent places worth visiting in Mysore were the Mysore Fort and Chamundeshwari temple. A shopping round was also organised at ‘Cauvery’, the States’ Silk and Handicraft Emporium and also the delegates were taken to some toy shops at Chanapatna.
While this trip was experiential, I personally felt, the media delegates should have been given some more time to see the worldrenowned Mysore Palace, which certainly was magnificent. The time allocated for the trip was insufficient and the itinerary turned out to be very hectic. However, reminiscing on the two days, the delegates seemed to be impressed by the conference. The bonding showcased and established between the delegates, members, PIB and MoT officials in this conference is well appreciated. Such bondings give an opportunity to support and understand businesses and ideas, which is certainly needed for Indian tourism in the post COVID world.