Air connectivity on MoT’s radar
Usha Sharma, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism, says foreign tourists will now get a booklet with tips on travelling around India. Calling tour operators the most important contributors to the growth, Sharma says MoT is also initiating onli
Q What is the target of the Ministry of Tourism?
The country has seen a good growth in tourism last year and now we have set a target of one per cent share in the global sector in another two to three years, so that means we need to double up our figures for FTA arrivals by the close of 2016-2017 and we need to work very hard for that.
Q How is the Ministry working towards that goal?
The e-Tourist Visa has been revolutionary. Currently 44 countries are included in the list and by the close of the financial year it will be extended to 150 countries, which would probably include most of the countries in the world. We also realise that some destinations have been over exploited and that we need to showcase new circuits. We need to give an incredible experience to tourists when they visit various sites. In two years you'll have a feel- good factor in all destinations. We realise that connectivity in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities is a major deterrent, we are in talks and we have assurance from the concerned ministries that soon we'll have air connectivity in many such cities. We'll promote less-
er- known products for the period from March-August to make India a 365- day destination. We are also sensitive towards the issue of safety. We realise that unless we have a one- to- one connect with buyers we will not arrive on the international scene. We are also initiating online training programmes with tour operators whom we feel are the most important aspect of contributing to the growth of the tourism sector. As soon as guests arrive at the airport, we are also giving a booklet which will have all the tips for happy travelling; this is an add- on feature to the welcome card.
Q What are the new destinations that the Ministry will be promoting?
We now have two great flagship programmes — ‘ Swadesh Darshan’ and ‘PRASAD’ through which we are showcasing new themes. Under ‘ PRASAD’ we rejuvenate and augment the infrastructure facilities in pilgrimage places, starting from the sites like Tirupati and under this we will ensure that tourists have seamless expe-
rience in visiting the deities. To begin with, we are taking 12 cities where we are dovetailing our funds with ‘HRIDAY’; we are now in the process of engaging consultants, who can be international or domestic consultants. The pilgrimage sites include Kamakhya, Varanasi, Amritsar and Amravati. The whole concept of developing a tourist destination should be holistic and we need global standards of infrastructure. Through ‘Swadesh Darshan’ we are introducing new destinations and have themes like Desert Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Krishna Circuit, North East Circuit and Coastal Circuit.
Q How effective are roadshows in promoting a destination?
Roadshows are one of the most effective ways of showcasing or marketing your country, where we have closed-door meetings with people of the region and we get to gain as these meetings help us understand what are the needs of the travellers.
Q What prompted the change in name from eVisa to eTourist Visa?
Earlier the name was Tourist Visa-on-Arrival enabled with ETA. There was a slight confusion, as earlier we had 12 countries getting VoA and later when they switched over to the online system there were some tourists who thought they could just board the flight and get a Visa-on-Arrival at the airport. We noticed that there was some discomfort because of this notion so the Ministry of Home Affairs took a prompt call as the whole idea of eTourist Visa is to provide cent per cent comfort to tourists.