Sikkim to be one of the largest beneficiaries of adventure tourism promotion

With its exotic locations, wilderness and mesmerizing natural beauty, Himalayan state Sikkim is going to be one of the largest beneficiaries of GoI's ongoing initiative to promote adventure tourism in order to popularize Indian adventure tourism in global platform, GoI is standardizing different facets of the fast growing sector especially the safety parameters.

Out of total 25 national projects already identified to boost up Adventure Tourism in India under Central Financial Assistance (CFA), Sikkim alone has 7, highest in number amongst Indian states. These include 3 heliports and three destination development projects.

According to ATTA ( Adventure Travel Trade Association), a global network of adventure tourism companies, global annual adventure tourism business volume is expected to cross $ 60 billion by the end 2012.

And, "With proper infrastructure development, Sikkim can enjoy a significant portion of this," said Mr. S. Sanyal, President Eastern Himalayan Tour and Travel Operators Association.

"We are ready to utilize the tourism potential in all possible ways without jeopardizing our rich natural biodiversity, delicate ecosystem and natural beauty," Sikkim CM Mr. Pawan Chamling told ET earlier.

The roadmap of Union Tourism Ministry to promote Indian adventure tourism in global platform has been chalked out based upon inputs from state Government and Adventure Tour Operators Association of India. Apart from finding different circuits, the Ministry is developing a well framed safety parameter conforming international standards for all the stake holders to follow.

With 82% of its 7000 sq km geographic area under forest cover, 3% under Glaciers and 14% under round the year snow cover, Sikkim is a hotspot for adventure tourism with its hilly terrain ranging from 900 ft to 28,000ft altitude above mean sea level.

Beside 26% of the total flowering plant species cache of the whole country, Sikkim hosts 424 identified medicinal plants or near 600 orchids in its flora and 552 birds or 700 species of butterflies in fauna to attract adventure tourists from the whole world.

Courtesy: indiatimes.com

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Top 5 Increasingly Booming Industries in India- Tourism and Hospitality are on the list

Since the advent of industrialization in India we have witnessed setting up of many new industries in various sectors. Indian industrialists after the 65 years of independence have come a long way. Some sectors have developed and some are still developing. Most of the sectors have even attracted foreign investments to the country. Following is an insight to some of the top increasingly booming industries in India.

Tourism

Tourism is one of the most important industries to any country as it is the best source for inflow of foreign currency into the country. A tourist, with him brings foreign currency and thus his every little spending is contributing in a better way to the country’s economy. Its contribution is around 6.23 % to the national GDP and generates 8.78% of the total employment. It is estimated that around US $375.5 billion will be generated by this particular sector by 2018. India being such a large and diverse destination has become a major attraction for tourists all over the world. The fact that it has 28 different states, and each one has a different and a unique culture of its own, adds to the curiosity of the tourists.

There have been efforts to increase new forms of tourism such as rural, medical and eco-tourism. Medical tourism over the years has attracted a large chunk of tourists to Asia especially for plastic surgeries. India, despite having some of the world class medical facilities has suffered due to its low levels of sanitation. This remains one of the biggest hurdles in development of medical tourism here. But one of the major challenges is of security of the tourists. Domestic tourism is over 800 million.

Another challenge is shortage of hotels and tourist accommodation places in the country. Lately, government has also started promoting tourism and awareness about tourism in country under the programme of “Incredible India”.

Power Generation

Electricity has become one of the most basic necessities of one’s life today. India has the 5th largest power consuming market in the world. In the 11th five year plan, the planning commission displayed “electricity for all till 2012” as the aim of government but 2012 has arrived and we are not even close to this goal. Power generation sector provides great opportunities to the investors as it promises higher returns. Coal, despite being termed as major pollutant still continues to generate 55% of total power generated. Though government has taken steps to generate electricity from hydro, nuclear and solar energy but there share is still very low as compared the thermal energy.

Hospitality industry

With increasing tourism and with the advent of modern life styles and westernization this particular sector has witnessed a sudden and massive boom.Hospitality industry is one of the world’s largest service generating sectors. In India though it is new but people are investing in it and also more people are opting for hotel management course to enter this promising industry.

This sector can be divided into two; the entertainment and accommodations sectors. Discs, bars hotels have become part of the urban lifestyles. On the other hand with an increase in tourism in India has lead to need of more hotels and infrastructure.

Animation industry

This particular sector has witnessed a much required boom over the past few years. With the increasing use of 3D technology in movies and many other animation technologies, this industry has managed to create a demand for creative animators, and other technicians.According to a study this industry is growing at rate of 30% annually. A slight government help to the animation industries in terms of loan can provide a futher increase and profit to new but rapidly growing industry.

Food processing industries

Food processing industry is another rapidly growing industry in india. The central government has taken many steps to increase the growth of this sector for eg they treat all the agro processing industries with a greater priority and responsibility. This has to some extent brought more organisational factor into the food retail and agricultural sector. This is one sector which has faced a rapid increase in the foreign direct investments. Also, over the time there has been an ever increasing demand of such goods in the Indian market. This industry is growing swiftly and is estimated to cross $200 billion till 2015. This sector currently faces major problem fetching proper investment at various stages of supply. More upgraded technology is the current need of the hour.

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J&K to be prime tourism destination in India: Jora

Stating that the tourism was the mainstay of the Kashmir’s economy, Minister for Tourism and Culture Nawang Rigzin Jora Thursday said that his department will turn Jammu and Kashmir as one of the premier destinations of the country. He said National Geograpic has agreed to promote State’s tourism.

“Give me one more peaceful year and you will see the sea change on the ground. Once peace is given a chance, there will be no looking back in the tourism sector,” Jora said while speaking at the annual certificate distribution ceremony of Institute of Hotel Management Srinagar.

Jora said Kashmir valley witnessed a surge in the tourist rush due to peaceful year 2011.
“We did our best to revive this industry. We want to see a record number of tourists to visit Kashmir valley. This industry received major setback during militancy. This year, we are expecting record number of tourist arrivals to Valley,” he said

Lauding the efforts of Institute of Hotel Management for its commendable job, Jora said the institute is emerging as the best institute in the country.

“For the fourth consecutive, this institute bagged national level awards,” he said.

Jora said lack of funds for tourism is hampering the developmental works in tourism sector.

“We receive only Rs 6 crore as publicity budget while as the state government has a budget of Rs 3000 crores for electricity. The more appalling thing is that Chattisgarh receives Rs 12 crore as publicity budget but Jammu and Kashmir being one of the scintillating tourist destinations gets only 6 crore as publicity budget,” he said.

“On our request, government of India will send a National Geograpic TV Channel team here which will make promotional ads on tourism in Jammu and Kashmir.”

Former Director Tourism Farooq Shah said Institute of Hotel Management is doing an excellent work in building the capacity of the students.

“The main aim of this institute is to provide professional training so that they can provide better services in tourism industry,” he said

He said the institute has trained thousands of students so far and will continue to do so in the future “Last year over 2000 students were trained in this institute. If the institute goes at this pace then there is no need for ordering manpower from outside the state and we can supply the manpower to other states as well,” he said.

Commissioner Secretary Tourism Government of J&K Atul Dullo said the courses taught here at the institute provide youth many employment opportunities.
“The institute provides free training to the youth. Thousands of students are trained here every year. It was necessary to provide this kind of training to the youth as the numbers of tourists are growing every year,” he said.

During today’s event over 700 certificates were distributed among the students who had completed their six months or one year courses in different sectors.

Among others who were present on the occasion include Principal Institute of Hotel Management Srinagar Nasheed Srivastav, Director Tourism Talat Parviz, and President Travel Agents association of Kashmir Rouf Tramboo.

Courtesy : www.risingkashmir.com

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South African Tourism to announce India as "established tourism market" by 2013

As a result of continued positive growth in inbound visitor numbers from India and China, South African Tourism is all set to recognise the two countries as established tourism markets. While speaking at Africa’s top travel trade fair, INDABA 2012, Thulani Nzima, CEO, South African Tourism, said, “We have witnessed strong growth from India in 2011 and recorded 90,367 Indian arrivals, a 26.2 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2010’s figure of 71 587. We hope to cross the 100,000 mark for tourist arrivals from India in 2012. Such increase in arrivals will give us the rationale to stop using the ‘Emerging Market’ tag for the country, which we shall do very soon, say by 2012 end or 2013.”

He added that South Africa witnessed 84,883 tourist arrivals from China in 2011, a growth of 24.3 per cent compared to the same period in 2010. He also said that South African Tourism shall continue to engage the trade and media for further promotion activities and continue to invest in both China and India. Marthinus van Schalkwyk, Tourism Minister, South Africa, said that India and China registered positive growth in 2011 and continue to remain emerging and core markets for South Africa. He stressed on the importance of the two countries and re-confirmed their contributions to South African Tourism.

Organised to be held over four days (May 12-15, 2012) at Durban ICC, INDABA 2012 has over 1,500 confirmed exhibitors including accommodation providers, airlines, tour operators, car rental companies, tourist attractions and a host of other tourism businesses, around 200 hosted buyers and over 780 media. The theme of the event this year is ‘Shaping our future together’.

While delivering his inaugural speech, Schalkwyk stressed on the need for cooperation to take tourism in Africa forward. “While South Africa’s tourism sector proved its resilience in tough global economic conditions, the industry requires to work with co-opetition (cooperation and competition), which is the new way for the future of tourism. There are some areas where we need to work with our competing international players. Competition brings out the best in all of us, but cooperation is what is urgently needed, especially for the African continent, where we have to work together to remove barriers to international travel and tourism. It is only through strong partnerships and a collective approach that South Africa’s tourism industry will continue to grow. We also need to work towards responsible and sustainable tourism.”

“Tourism is a collaborative business and requires cohesion and partnership from all spheres of the tourism industry, both private and public, to ensure tourism growth. It is necessary to manage the value chain and work in collaboration with all the stakeholders involved,” Nzima added.

Speaking of challenges and hurdles that need to be addressed, Schalkwyk said that taxes such as the United Kingdom air passenger duty and the European Union’s unilateral inclusion of all international flights in their domestic emissions trading scheme (ETS), distort markets and affect passenger numbers and tourism receipts in long-haul, developing-country destinations, and will increasingly do so in the years to come. “We should work with our likeminded partners in other long-haul destinations to fight the aggressive unilateralism with which new taxes on international tourism are imposed. We are working with a number of partners to push for a global solution to replace this patchwork of unilateral measures,” he said.

Schalkwyk also stressed on aviation as a major factor for boosting tourism. He said, “We must unlock the benefits of aviation on our continent, create space for the new-model low-cost airlines, advance competition in the skies, and establish Johannesburg as one of the hubs on the continent as well as the South-South corridor. In all of this, our national carrier, South African Airways, will have an important role to play.”

Setting the target for 2020, Schalkwyk said, “Eight years from now, in 2020, the timeframe of our National Tourism Sector Strategy (NTSS), we want to see 15 million international arrivals for which we will be spending R 218 million in promoting our destination in Africa over the next three years and will ensure a significant presence on the continent, with five offices across Africa within five years. By 2020, we will have implemented an e-visa system that will improve security while also facilitating hassle-free travel.”

Coutesy: travelbizmonitor.com

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Kerala Tourism road show in Saudi Arabia

Kerala Tourism is holding its maiden road show in Jeddah, the thriving urban centre of oil-rich Saudi Arabia from Sunday. The three-day event will travel to capital Riyadh and Dammam on Monday and the day after.

The Tourism Minister, Mr A.P. Anil Kumar, will lead the road shows, a Kerala Tourism spokesman announced here. These are being held at a time when the middle-east is emerging as a major market for the world's exotic destinations.

“Saudi Arabia is the biggest market for outbound tourists in the region,” the spokesman quoted the Minister as saying. “We want to invite travellers from Saudi Arabia to Kerala's world renowned tourism destinations,” he added.

High-Spending

Saudi Arabian tourists are the highest spending travellers abroad from the Middle-East. Nearly half of the country's population falls in the higher income bracket.

Saudi Arabians look for holidays in the harsh summer (June to September) in their country when temperatures hover above 50 degree Celsius.

Kerala's monsoon tourism and Ayurveda are already drawing a number of travellers from Saudi Arabia, the spokesman said. Health and wellness holidays are a major segment of outbound travel from Saudi Arabia, a factor Kerala Tourism is keen to leverage in its favour.

Outbound Tourists

The country's proximity to Kerala and good air connectivity are the other factors in favour of God's Own Country.

The Middle-East has recorded more than nine million outbound tourists in 2011 and the figure is likely to touch 35 million by 2020.

Saudi Arabia accounts for 40 per cent of these, he added. Others now joining the list include United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Around 50 local tour operators are expected to participate in the road shows in each of the three Saudi Arabian cities.  

Copyright © 2012, Kasturi & Sons Ltd., Chennai All Rights Reserved.

courtesy : http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-others/tp-states/article3391526.ece

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Bollywood boosts local tourism

One has heard of Bollywood being wooed by foreign countries to promote their destinations through the films. The most popular examples being that of actor Shah Rukh Khan promoting Berlin through his film Don 2 and actor Akshay Kumar promoting Canada as a brand ambassador. The trend gained momentum with the success of theHrithik Roshan-Katrina Kaif-Farhan Akhtar-Abhay Deol starrer, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, where travel agents were bombarded with bookings for Spain. Now, a reverse trend of sorts is currently taking place in India, where tourists are not just seeking hot destinations such as Kashmir, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, but also locales like Wai near Satara made popular by films like Omkara and Dabangg or Dharavi post Slumdog Millionare, Bhopal thanks to Prakash Jha’s films and many such places amongst others.Spotting actor Salman Khan’s Panvel farmhouse from hill-stations like Matheran gives a different thrill to those taking a filmi tour. Industry experts feel that instead of boosting tourism for international places, scouting and exploring various unexplored domestic locales are not just budget-friendly, but also help in local tourism.

Akshay says, “A film can really help boost a place’s tourism prospects, not just in a small way, but substantially because it features in a film that has mass appeal. Hence when we look for places that are unexplored in our country,it should also have all the necessary ingredients to be a tourist spot.”

Travel agents and tour operators are now increasingly tapping places that have featured in popular films and say that filmi tours are gaining popularity. “For people going to Mahabaleshwar, we also offer Wai, which is very close to the hill station, as many shoots take place there, making it a tourist attraction. The reason being that they get a glimpse of their favourite Bollywood stars shooting there. But foreign tourists usually prefer to go to places like Dharavi, CST, Nariman Point in Mumbai.”

Another travel agent, Suresh Maniar, feels that South East Asia, particularly Thailand, has done exceptionally well because of the films being shot there. “Indian tourists are open to visiting places that they have already seen in the films and ads. For instance, there are places like Goa, Jaipur, and Kashmir where guides take them to various locations made popular in films. In fact, many packages are designed in such a way that they can watch a film shoot,” says Maniar.

Courtesy: dnaindia.com

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Travel courses from Thomas Cook

The travel industry in India is booming. Both inbound and outbound travel have reached dizzying heights and several new concepts like theme holidays, online booking and custom holidays are gaining popularity.

This indicates that the industry is making giant strides and Thomas Cook Centre of Learning has taken a step towards bringing in professionals to manage this growing trend by offering a Travel Professional Programme.

Course details

Centre of Learning, is an initiative from Thomas Cook (India) to develop talent for the industry.

“We offer a wide range of programmes from basic to advanced levels for travel aspirants, students and working executives, ranging from four months to two years in duration,” says Smeeta Gulvady, Vice President and Head – Thomas Cook Centre of Learning

My India My Way, a four-month undergraduate programme offers students an opportunity to master one’s knowledge on Indian tourist destinations,. They can learn how to market various cities, build operational and selling skills.

The company also offers a variety of postgraduate courses, including a three-month certificate course in World Tour Management, a one-year Travel Professional programme , which is a diploma in travel and tourism management inclusive of an internship, and a two-year International Tourism Business course in association with the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM).

My India My Way offers dual specialisations and includes case-based learning and exposure to an international business environment. The training institute also provides a wide array of IATA undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

In keeping with its vision, the Centre of Learning organises a wide range of workshops, corporate and destination training programmes. The institute recently partnered with IRCTC Western zone for its soft skills training needs.

Centre of Learning has also partnered with various Tourism Boards including Fiji, Swiss, Czech, Canada and Egypt to conduct training sessions for travel agents across the country. .

“Pursuing this course increases a student’s chances of a robust career in the travel and tourism. He/she can look at launching his/her own travel agency. Besides being in the travel operations field, candidates can join the aviation sector or even work as a travel counsellor.

An individual can also explore career opportunities in corresponding fields like event management, adventure tourism and teaching amongst others. Excellence in performance may earn one a position in Thomas Cook,” says Gulvady.

courtesy: Deccan Herald

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