October 21, 2015 TnH Global 0

MoT launches several new initiatives on World Tourism Day

On the occasion of World Tourism Day, Union Ministry of Tourism announced the formation of Medical and Wellness Tourism Board. The ministry also announced the Tourism Vision Document 2030.

The Union Minister of State for Tourism(Independent Charge) , Culture (Independent Charge), and Civil Aviation, Dr Mahesh Sharma announced the constitution of the Medical and Wellness Tourism Promotion Board at a function in New Delhi today. The Board has been formed to tap the potential and advantages that India has in the field of medical and wellness tourism. The Centre of Excellence in Hospitality Education to operate from Hotel Samrat in New Delhi was also inaugurated at today’s function. Release of Tourism Vision Document 2030, launch of the revamped website of Ministry of Tourism http://tourism.gov.in/ which has now been made bilingual, release of Audio Visual Presentation ‘Introduction to India’ and a seminar on the theme of World Tourism Day 2015 “One Billion Tourist, One Billion Opportunities” were some of the other highlights of today’s function on the occasion of World Tourism Day.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Mahesh Sharma said that low cost medical facilities are India’s strength and we must take advantage of the same for the purpose of promoting tourism. It is for this reason that the Government took the important decision of setting up the Medical and Wellness Tourism Promotion Board. The Board will have a corpus fund of Rs 2 crore initially, the Minister disclosed. Dr Mahesh Sharma said that the AYUSH facilities will be promoted along with regular medical facilities.

The details of some of the new initiatives launched today are as below:
Medical and Wellness Tourism Promotion Board: The Board will provide leadership of the Government within a framework of prudent and effective measures, thereby enabling promotion and positioning of India as a competent and credible medical and wellness tourism destination. The Board will be chaired by the Union Tourism Minister and consists of members representing the related Government Departments, Tourism & Hospitality sector and experts in the Medical, Wellness and Yoga.

Ashok Institute of Hospitality & Tourism Management – Centre of Excellence :The Ashok Institute of Hospitality & Tourism Management is part of the HRD division of India Tourism Development Corporation Ltd.,(ITDC) a PSU under Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India. As part of its contribution towards supplying trained manpower to the Hospitality Industry, ITDC has envisioned to set up a Centre of Excellence in Hospitality Education at Hotel Samrat, New Delhi. The courses offered by AIH&TM are a blend of the rich heritage and culture of India and hospitality management education system. It provides the students with a world class contemporary education to have an edge over others in the field.

Tourism Vision Document 2030: The document goes into the challenges for the sector and details the way towards Vision 2030. ‘Tourism vision 2030’ has been commissioned by the Experience India Society and prepared by KPMG.

Launch of Bi-Lingual Website of Ministry of Tourism: The official website of the Ministry http://tourism.gov.in/ has been revamped and translated in Hindi. This Administrative website of the Ministry of Tourism contains the activities and information of all the divisions of the Ministry including the web based E-Recognition System for recognition of Travel Trade Service Providers and Approval and Classification of Hotels.

Audio Visual Presentation ‘ Introduction to India’ : The Indian Association of Tour Operators, the Apex Body of Tourism Industry and especially promoting inbound tourism to our country has produced a 6 minutes AV presentation depicting all tourism products of India and a element of human engagement with the various tourism products . This video presentation is to be used by IATO in all its promotional activities including Road Shows, international travel marts and other industry Interactions.