A high-level Parliamentary panel has suggested this to the culture ministry in a recently released report.
Referring to footfalls at Centrally protected monuments, the committee on transport, tourism and culture recommended that the culture ministry “should make an assessment of the cumulative impact of all the ASI efforts towards attracting more number of visitors to ASI monuments and examine these efforts vis-a-vis the best global practices”.
It has further suggested that state-of-the-art technologies being adopted by other countries in promotion of culture also need to be studied so that the same could be replicated in India as well.
The Rajya Sabha panel further sought to know about the fate of 50 missing Centrally protected monuments and recommended the ministry to direct ASI to initiate an urgent survey of such monuments in light of the lack of physical security instead of making it “as and when” matter based on the inputs of ASI field officers.
While appreciating ASI’s efforts towards retrieving antiquities, the committee sought to be briefed about the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) being followed in this regard, especially the responsibility of upkeep and preservation of the repatriated antiquities including the role of respective states and the involvement of museum authorities.
Expressing concern over the fact, a high-level Parliamentary panel has sought to know the number of Indian villages which were nominated for the selection by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), in its best tourism villages list and the impact of such selection on village tourism. The committee also sought to know the efforts being taken for development of Khonoma after its inclusion in the upgrade list of the UNWTO.
The committee also suggested that the culture ministry should put in all efforts to allocate adequate funds to North eastern states.The ministry should strive make an effort for 100 per cent utilisation of the budget grants available for promotion and awareness of it’s varied schemes being implemented in North eastern areas, it said.
The committee further reiterated that there is a consistent decrease in the funds allocated to the North eastern states and it felt that the 10 per cent mandatory allotment should be revised as per the demands raised by individual states in North eastern areas.
The ministry must increase the said amount as per the requirements of states and cultural organisations for proper promotion of the programmes and activities to be undertaken in Northeastern areas, it stated further.
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The 2022 list of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation featuring 32 best tourism villages from 22 countries, does not contain a single village from India, even as several countries have two villages in the list.
Expressing concern over the fact, a high-level Parliamentary panel has sought to know the number of Indian villages which were nominated for the selection by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), in its best tourism villages list and the impact of such selection on village tourism.
A report titled ‘Development of Niche Tourism (including Spiritual Tourism), Theme-based Tourist Circuits and Potential Tourist Spots‘ by the Rajya Sabha’s Standing Committee on transport, tourism and culture, which was presented during the recently-concluded Special Session of Parliament, noted that Khonoma in Nagaland has been selected for the ‘Upgrade’ programme which would enable the village to receive the necessary support from the UNWTO to improve its conditions to meet the selection criteria.
As the world gears up to celebrate World Tourism Day, the global tourism sector is poised for a grand convergence, uniting under the theme of “Tourism and Green Investments”. The industry stakeholders and experts we reached out to, advocated the need to have a collective and coordinated approach involving governments, businesses, and stakeholders, besides, the need to have more local community involvement.
The committee further sought to know the efforts being taken for development of Khonoma after its inclusion in the upgrade list of the UNWTO.It further observed that in a predominantly agrarian and rural economy like India, rural tourism has immense potential for boosting employment and incomes of villagers, while offering opportunities to the city dwellers to take a break from the hectic pace of urban life and to experience nature and local cultures at a much slower pace.
“India is home to a diverse range of unique villages, each with its own cultural, architectural and historical significance. Unique villages such as Mattur in Karnataka where all the residents speak only Sanskrit and many others, offer a glimpse into India’s rich traditions and culture,” it said.
However, the panel noted that the rural tourism website does not provide details as to how to travel to the unique villages nor details regarding rural homestays.
Even the Khonoma village page does not provide any useful details for the tourists, it observed.
Among the main reasons for the poor performance of India in MICE tourism is lack of focused approach on MICE tourism, a high-level Parliamentary panel in its report presented during the recently concluded special session of Parliament has made this observation. This comes at a time when PM Modi opened the G20 Summit at Bharat Mandapam and also inaugurated a huge MICE infrastructure named ‘YashoBhoomi’ in the national capital.
The committee thus recommended that the Tourism Ministry should ensure that the rural tourism website has all details of rural homestays, travel connectivity and tourist spots in respect of every village featured for the convenience of the tourists.
The committee, while appreciating the ‘Best Village Competition’ initiated by the Tourism Ministry, expressed dismay that in the last one year, only one model rural cluster has been identified, without any action being taken on the ground.
It noted that the villages to be covered in the ‘Vibrant Villages’ programme are located in far- flung areas, and close to borders, often in difficult terrains.
Therefore, it suggested that as Uttarakhand has a number of border villages with rich traditions and local culture, the Tourism Ministry can make concerted efforts to develop the ‘Model Rural Cluster’ in Uttarakhand within a targeted time schedule.
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Even as the Centre has been bullish towards creating infrastructure for holding MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions), which is also an initiative close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s heart, India has less than one per cent share in the global MICE business, despite being one of the fastest growing economies.Among the main reasons for the poor performance of India in MICE tourism is lack of focused approach on MICE tourism, a high-level Parliamentary panel in its report presented during the recently concluded special session of Parliament has made this observation. This comes at a time when PM Modi opened the G20 Summit at Bharat Mandapam and also inaugurated a huge MICE infrastructure named ‘YashoBhoomi‘ in the national capital.
Bharat Mandapam and YashoBhoomi have been created by the Modi government as prime infrastructures for promoting MICE.
This means tourism projects and stakeholders and others will become eligible for funds that come under development of industries and will lead to better employment opportunities and training. Priority sectors and destinations can be developed. The policy provides industry status to the sector by which it will receive the benefits provided to an industry. This was a long standing demand from the stakeholders.
The Rajya Sabha Parliamentary standing committee on transport, tourism and culture, in its report titled ‘Development of Niche Tourism (including Spiritual Tourism), Theme-based Tourist Circuits and Potential Tourist Spots’, in a significant observation noted that “India was ranked 28th with 158 meetings in 2019 International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) ranking of countries. Indian cities are ranked poorly in the international ranking of cities by ICCA in terms of the number of international associations meetings”.”There are only seven cities of India in the top 475 cities, the topmost being Delhi at the 75th position with 37 meetings held and Ahmedabad at the bottom at the 424th position with four meetings. Even Goa, which is one of the country’s top tourist destinations, is ranked at the 307th position with eight meetings,” it noted further.
The committee also observed that as per the National Strategy document on MICE, India’s core MICE infrastructure and amenities are at par with most of the developed countries, yet, the main reasons for the poor performance of India in MICE tourism is lack of focused approach on MICE tourism, absence of system for capturing information about various national and international MICE events and preparing for winning the bids, high tax structure and costs and lack of standardisation of processes and services.
Underlining India’s rising appeal across the world as a tourist destination, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that this global fascination marks a promising trend for the tourism sector, including in the area of employment generation. Modi underscored the impact of India hosting the G20 Summit and said the event drew over one lakh delegates from around the world.
“Besides, most of the successful international cities have their convention bureaus to market and provide support to the organisations and associations hosting events whereas there are no city convention bureaus in India. Singapore, Thailand, UAE, China, Macau and Malaysia are already preferred destinations for MICE events in the region and India faces tough competition from these countries, it said further.
The committee further observed that the convention industry can enhance a city’s reputation and visibility.
Creating a marketing body to get more events will help, nurture and market the MICE investments in the city, it suggested further in the report.
“The committee recommends that the Centre may make all efforts to ensure that such MICE promotion bureaus may be set up in the six identified cities within a targeted time schedule to market and showcase the respective destinations as a favourable location for hosting business events and activities,” it said.
The panel also observed that there are about 80,000, 4 star and 5 star hotel rooms in approved hotels, which for a country the size of India, is quite insignificant.
“The total number of rooms in the city of Bangkok is nearly three times that of India. Adequacy of quality hotels can enhance the reputation of a destination as a suitable location for hosting MICE events, thus contributing to satisfaction of participants, repeat business besides word-of-mouth recommendation. Therefore, adequate four and five star categories hotel rooms would have to be increased, for realising the goals of MICE tourism,” it further suggested.
The committee also observed that connectivity, especially by air, is one of the important aspects that promotes MICE tourism.
“Since good international air connectivity reduces travel time and logistical challenges, the government should coordinate with the ministry of civil aviation to ensure that the identified cities of MICE destinations are well connected for international flights,” the panel recommended.
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