ETW Staff – Mumbai
The ministry of tourism (MoT) has identified 50 tourist circuits for development. These include cruise tourism for Goa, core Buddhist circuit, pilgrimage circuits which include Varanasi Ghat, etc. The latter will help augment the initiative undertaken to reinstate the sanctity and development of the holy city.
Sripad Yesso Naik, minister of state for tourism and culture, disclosed this at an interactive meeting organised by CII in Goa recently. The minister said that India will be positioned as a global brand by making travel hassle free and user friendly through implementation of e-visa that will be introduced in a phased manner at nine airports in India including Goa very shortly. This will be a game changer for the tourism industry and will attract large number of foreign tourists.
Arjun Sharma, co-chair of CII National Committee on Tourism emphasised that for India to achieve its goal of attracting 12 million foreign tourists annually, and to combat issues pertaining to taxation, visa, infrastructure, and other concerns, it is essential that the government and private sectors collaborate and work together to achieve the set targets and help India become a major tourist destination.
CII too suggested the creation of an empowered National Tourism Board comprising of the government, public and private players who can work in partnership. A step by step approach and deliberation over the existing suggestions of cost of visa and its link to reciprocity, simplifying visa form and procedures, improvements in visa processes, exempting hotels and tour operators from service tax on foreign exchange earnings and alleviating the problem of multiplicity of taxes at various levels will help the sector prosper and become a major foreign exchange earner for India.
Another suggestion made by CII was to create a Task Force on Cleanliness and Security and engage ex-servicemen who can provide insights to make an impact. Also, commercial tourist vehicles can make use of smart cards to facilitate seamless travel through state borders.
