Statistics of Growth in the current year:
The foreign tourist arrivals (FTA) to India up to the month of November 2008 increased by 8.0% over the arrivals for the same period in 2007. The cumulative arrival figures for the period January to November 2008 reached 4.84 million. During the period, world witnessed 2-3% increase in foreign tourist arrivals.

The foreign exchange earnings (FEE) from the tourism sector were Rs.45647.00 crores during the period January-November 2008, an increase of 16.2% over the corresponding period in 2007.  The important source countries were US, UK, Canada, France, Germany and  Japan.     

Infrastructure Development:
Infrastructure Development holds the key to India’s sustained growth in the tourism sector. Therefore, the Ministry of Tourism has been making efforts to develop quality tourism infrastructure at tourist destinations and circuits. The Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned 91 projects for an amount of Rs.503.56 crore for infrastructure augmentation including rural tourism projects in the year 2008-09 (up to November 08).

The Ministry has launched a scheme for development of nationally and internationally important destinations and circuits through Mega Projects. To date 22 mega projects have already been identified and of these 17 projects have been sanctioned. In the year alone the Ministry has sanctioned 11 mega projects at Amritsar, Bhubaneshwar-Puri-Chilka, Tirupati (Nellore-Chittor), Dwarka, Haridwar-Rishikesh, Vidarbha Heritage Circuit, Hampi, Gangtok, Kadapa, Mahabalipuram and Ganga Heritage Cruise Circuit. The mega projects are a judicious mix of culture, heritage, spiritual and ecotourism in order to give tourists a holistic perspective.

Ministry of Tourism is also taking initiatives with other Central Govt. Ministries, such as Railways, Civil Aviation, Road Transport & Highways, Food Processing and Urban Development and also the concerned State Governments to achieve convergence and synergy with their programmes so that the impact of investment on these destinations is maximized.

Based on continuous coordination and interaction, 6 tourism sites - Agra, Varanasi, Gangtok, Bhubaneswar, Aurangabad and Hyderabad are being developed as mega destinations through the joint plans of all the key Ministries of Government of India.

With the loan assistance of JBIC, the Ajanta Ellora Conservation and Tourism Development Project (Phase-II) is under implementation.

Sustainable Tourism:
The true potential of tourism lies in adopting responsible and sustainable practices on both the demand and supply sides of the tourism chain, enabling an effective response to climate change. This is closely interlinked with inclusive growth through sustainable community participation.
 
This ‘sustainable’ tourism route has been adopted by the Ministry of Tourism in the innovative Rural Tourism Project, by strengthening the disadvantaged but skilled rural artisan communities through support to capacity building and vernacular infrastructure, while laying emphasis on the role of women. In furtherance of these objectives and achievements, Ministry of Tourism in association with UNDP and key stakeholders in the tourism industry organised four regional conferences on Sustainable Tourism for Inclusive Growth at Shillong, Chennai, Bhopal and Cochin.

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, was winner of the prestigious “World Travel Award 2008” for its role in developing and promotion of "Responsible Tourism” at the Award ceremony held in WTM London.

In addition, Mega shopping festivals are also being organized in cities of different regions of the country such as Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Aurangabad and Noida where artisans and artists from rural tourism sites would be given a platform for exhibition and sale of their handicraft products and for cultural performances.  This kind of exposure to the domestic and international tourists would have far reaching benefits for the socio-economic development of the rural artisans.

Ministry of Tourism on its part has taken several initiatives to make tourism services accessible to the differently-abled. Ministry of Tourism has requested all the State Governments to ensure implementation of the guidelines to provide barrier free environment at the destinations in the tourism infrastructure projects  implemented    with the assistance of the Ministry of Tourism.   It is now mandatory for 4 star,  5star  &  5 star deluxe  hotels  to  have  special  facilities  for  physically challenged guests. These rules are now in the process of being extended to other categories of hotels. Steps have also been taken to make destinations/tourist places more accessible to the disabled.

The Ministry of Tourism has introduced an Award of Excellence from the current year for Most Disabled Friendly Monument / Tourist Attraction in the Annual National Tourism Awards.

Overseas Marketing and Promotion:
The Ministry has consistently been working on a two pronged strategy for marketing of Incredible India brand.  The strategy includes visible branding in the outdoor media such as advertising at airports, on trams, taxis and buses and through the print, online and electronic media, as well as through participation in Travel Marts and Road Shows.  For promotion of Indian Cuisine, which is an integral component of the Indian Tourism product, support has been extended to Indian Food Festivals organized in various countries. With a view to ensuring that limitation of language does not hamper promotional activities, publicity is being undertaken in local languages for better impact e.g. in Spanish, Chinese, French, etc.

Hospitality has been extended to about 595 guests, including media personnel, travel agents and tour operators. These guests were also invited to cover important events such as SATTE 2008, Himalayan Run & Trek Event, as well as on Fam Tours on the Special Buddhist Tourist Train and the Deccan Odyssey Tourist Train. IBSA Workshop, Great Indian Travel Bazar, KTM-2008, PATA-2008 and Dedication ceremony of Kalka-Shimla World Heritage Train.

Ministry of Tourism finalized the launch of 7 International Campaigns   viz. Americas-Print; Europe-Print; APAC-Print, Global Print; Americas-TV, Europe-TV and APAC-TV  to tape the potential visitors/cliental and to establish Incredible India Brand in the important tourist generating markets.

Major activities of India Tourism Offices Overseas were:

(i) Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and CII organized an “Incredible India  @60” event in Singapore from 4th to 7th April 2008. The event was inaugurated by the Minister for Tourism and Culture Smt. Ambika Soni. The activities and programmes organized during the event   included cultural performances from different regions of India, demonstration and display of Indian handicrafts especially by artisans from rural tourism sites, photographic exhibition on India and an India Evening.  Extensive promotion and marketing through print and outdoor advertising was undertaken to coincide with the event.

(ii) The Ministry of Tourism opened its Office in Beijing on 7th April 2008. The office was inaugurated by the Minister for Tourism and Culture Smt. Ambika Soni. To mark the occasion, Incredible India Cultural Evenings were organized in Beijing on 7th April 2008 and in Shanghai on 9th April 2008, which showcased India’s classical dance, music and cuisine.

(iii) The Ministry of Tourism participated in 14th World Travel Market (WTM) 2008 held at Excel, London from 10th-13th November 2008  with participation of 77 co -exhibitors in the Pavilion which  included 16 State Governments / UTs and 61 Travel Agents / Tour Operators / Hotels / Airlines.

(iv) India Tourism offices overseas have participated in 140 Travel Fairs and Exhibitions in important tourist generating markets the world over as well as in emerging and potential markets to showcase and promote the tourism products of the country. These include the major international Travel Fairs such as the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai, and World Travel Market (WTM) in London.

PATA Travel Mart 2008:
India successfully hosted the PATA Travel Mart 2008 in Hyderabad from September 16 to 19, 2008. Approximately 1,089 trade delegates, comprising 374 global buyers from 324 organizations and 715 Asia Pacific seller delegates from 301 organizations participated in the Travel Mart.

India accounted for the largest contingent of sellers, representing about 28% of the exhibitors at the Travel Mart, with the remaining 72% being international exhibitors from the Asia Pacific Region. As host destination, India provided the largest single-source market buyer contingent, with strong growth coming from China (PRC), which will host next year's Mart in Hangzhou.

In addition to the business sessions, hosted dinners with entertainment programmes, lunches, sightseeing tours and golf games provide multiple opportunities for delegates to savour the culture and cuisine of the country as well as the tourist sites of Hyderabad. Delegates also availed attractive specially designed pre and post mart tours to different regions of the country.

Promotion of Domestic Tourism:
To promote  domestic  tourism  in  the  country  and  to  create  social  awareness among  the  masses,  various  domestic  campaigns  have been  launched  during  the  current year in leading  print  publications,  TV  and  radio  channels.  Ministry of Tourism has launched 4 Domestic Media Campaigns viz. Adventure and Wildlife, Jammu & Kashmir, Rural Tourism and North East in the current year.

Noted film actor, Aamir Khan will be brand ambassador of the Ministry of Tourism for the Incredible India Social Awareness Campaign called “Atithi Devo Bhava”.  The mass appeal of the noted actor will further boost the Tourism Ministry’s efforts to make people aware about the safety and security of the tourists, hygiene, sanitation and vandalisation of historical monuments. Safeguarding of our rich heritage while promoting tourism is an important issue and the association of Sh. Aamir Khan will definitely bring desired results.

Hotel Infrastructure:
Ministry of Tourism estimated that there is a shortage of 1, 50,000 hotel rooms by 2010 all over the country. It is also estimated that 30,000 hotel rooms would be required in the NCR for the Commonwealth Games 2010. Keeping this in view, Ministry of Tourism has already initiated action by taking up the matter with Ministry of Urban Development, DDA and State Governments.

Due to the  efforts of the Ministry of Tourism, the Finance Ministry has announced a 5 year Tax Holiday under Section 80-ID to hotels of 2, 3 and 4 star category and Convention Centres which will be coming up between 1.4.2007 to 31.3.2010 in the districts of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Gautam Budh Nagar (NOIDA) and Ghaziabad.

The Ministry of Tourism also successfully persuaded the Finance Ministry in announcing in the budget of 2008-09, a five year holiday from income tax to two, three or four star hotels established in specified districts which have UNESCO-declared 'World Heritage Sites'. The hotels should be constructed and start functioning during the period April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2013.

The growth of newer niche tourism products viz. rural tourism, eco-tourism, adventure tourism and camp tourism etc. has seen the emergence of a new segment of tented accommodation which provides an altogether new experience. The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has introduced a voluntary scheme for project approval and classification of operational Tented Accommodation in the country and guidelines for the same has been issued.

Quality Human Resource Development:
It is estimated that to cater for the growing need of the hospitality sector, over 203 thousand hospitality trained manpower would be required annually, therefore, it has been the endeavour of the Ministry of Tourism to put in place a system of training and professional education with necessary infrastructural support, capable of generating manpower to meet the needs of the tourism and hospitality industry, both quantitatively and qualitatively.

The Ministry actively pursued its efforts to create institutional infrastructure for the training of manpower to meet the growing demand of the industry.   The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs has approved the revised guidelines for the scheme of assistance to Institute of Hotel Management (IHM), Food Craft Institutes (FCIs) including setting up of 19 state IHMs and 25 state FCIs.  The Ministry of Tourism has already sanctioned   FCIs at  Hoshiarpur  in Punjab and Muzaffarpur in Bihar in the current financial year.

The CCEA also approved the policy of broad basing hospitality education to ITIs, vocational schools, polytechnics, universities and colleges to meet the growing demand of trained manpower in hospitality sector.

International Cooperation:
International Cooperation through tourism has been a hall mark of the Ministry’s efforts to reach out.

(i) At the ASEAN India Tourism Minister’s Conference earlier this year, there was a very positive response to India’s initiative for launching the India ASEAN website, as also to the initiative in organizing a Workshop for travel agents from ASEAN countries, called ‘Beyond Boundaries’.

(ii) To strengthen  Cooperation  between  India  and  China,  Ministry  of  Tourism  opened  its  India  Tourism  Office  in  Beijing.

(iii) Another international forum in which there is progress is the IBSA dialogue forum between India, Brazil and South Africa.  An IBSA Workshop was organized in Kochi on September 21, 2008, which provided an opportunity for Tour Operators from Brazil and South Africa to interact with their Indian counterparts and deliberate on issues related to the promotion of tourism between the three countries. A total of 26 Tour Operators from Brazil and South Africa participated in this workshop. The IBSA Workshop was preceded by a Joint Working Group Meeting on Tourism, in which members agreed to finalization of the tripartite agreement for cooperation in the tourism sector. This Agreement was subsequently signed at the IBSA Summit held in New Delhi on October 15, 2008.

(iv) The Minister of Tourism and Culture, Smt. Ambika Soni Chaired the 84th Session of the Executive Council of United Nations World Tourism Organization which was  held in Madrid, Spain on 14-15 October 2008 in her  capacity as the Chairperson of the Executive Council.

New Initiatives:
 
(i) Cruise Tourism:
Cruise Tourism is a relatively new but an emerging sector with a high potential for growth. With the approval of the Cruise Tourism Policy, the huge potential of this tourism product has been opened up.  Together with the Port Trust Authorities and the State Governments, the Ministry is now focusing on infrastructure development as well as motivating cruise operators to make cruises operational.  Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned Rs.14.50 crore in the current year for development of tourist infrastructure in Willingdon Island – Cochin port.

(ii) Adventure Tourism:
Adventure tourism has immense potential for growth.  For experiencing the different types of adventure tourism right from rock climbing, river rafting, para gliding, mountaineering and under water diving, the Ministry has been sanctioning projects to different States.  The  South Asian  Winter  Games  being  organized  in Feb. 2009 in  Uttarakhand  marks  the  beginning  of  several  such  events  which will  bring  India  to  the International  Adventure  Tourism  platform.

(iii) Wellness Tourism:
India, as the world knows, is a Wellness destination. The potential of wellness systems, developed through centuries of wisdom of this ancient civilization would be fully tapped. This is being done by positioning India as a centre of Ayurveda, Yoga, Siddha, Naturopathy, etc. together with the spiritual philosophy that was integral to the Indian way of life.  The Ministry of Tourism has highlighted wellness in a big way through publicity and promotional activities. 

International Recognition:
The success of the Incredible India Media Campaigns won India wide spread international recognition in the field of tourism.

(i) Conde Nast Traveller, UK in its Readers Travel Awards 2008 has ranked India among the top 2 most favoured countries in the world, consecutively for the second year.

(ii) India received the award for the leading destination at the Asia World Travel Awards 2008-“Asia and Indian Ocean” Ceremony, in Shanghai, China.

(iii) Bronze Lion Award was won at the 55th International Advertising Festival held at Cannes, France for the creative on the ‘Taj Mahal’ which was used for Ministry of Tourism’s Incredible India Campaign in the international market.

(iv) PC World adjudged the website of the Ministry of Tourism (www.incredibleindia.org) a winner of the PC World Web Award 2008.

(v) The prestigious “World Travel Award 2008” for its role in developing and promotion of "Responsible Tourism”  at 14th World Travel Market (WTM) 2008 held at Excel, London from 10th-13th November 2008.

Ministry of Tourism’s efforts to counter the financial melt-down:

The period January to June of the current year recorded an 11.5 % increase in FTAs and 22.2 % increase in FEES (in $ terms) as compared to the corresponding period last year. However, the impact of the global economic melt down started manifesting itself subsequently with the dips in growth of FTAs o 8% and FEEs to 13.3 % by November.

To discuss the Industry problems as a fall out of the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai as well as issues affecting the industry due to the ongoing financial melt-down, the National Tourism Advisory Council (NTAC) and the stakeholders met on December 15, under the chairpersonship of Minister of Tourism and Culture Ambika Soni and in presence of the Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Kanti Singh.

During the deliberations, it was decided to form a committee of representatives of trade associations and officers of the concerned ministries to look for ways by which the visitors experience at important heritage monuments can be improved. Another committee was formed to look into the civil aviation related issues like chartered flights.

The following steps were taken to protect the Indian Tourism Industry from the global meltdown:

(i) Strengthening the  Market Development Assistance (MDA) Scheme

(ii) Organizing  Familiarization Tours for Overseas Media and Travel Trade Representatives Incentives to repeat visitors

(iii) Subsidy to the trade and state governments for participation in international travel fairs and exhibitions

(iv) Extending the benefit of the Marketing Development Assistance Scheme  of the Ministry to active Members of India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB)

(v) Organization of Travel Mart in April, 2009 – the Great India Travel Bazaar in Jaipur in association with the State Governments and all stakeholders

(vi) Year 2009 is being promoted as Visit India Year where attractive incentives are being worked out

The status of the Travel Advisories issued by major tourist generating countries is being reviewed on regular basis to take suitable measures.

The Ministry of Tourism has also undertaken the confidence building measures to minimize the negative impact on tourism by putting up the security updates for foreign tourists in its website, liaising with Indian Missions, travel industry and media in overseas.

Achievements of ITDC:
ITDC has undertaken the renovation of Ashok Hotel, Delhi, and Renovation of other hotels in Delhi has also been planned for providing them the competitive edge in their respective categories.

The turnover of ITDC upto November 2008 was Rs. 289.02 crore as against Rs. 259.38 crore during the same period last year, representing an increase of 11.43 %.   The ITDC earned a net profit of Rs.40.87 crore up to November 2008 as against Rs.39.88 crore during the same period last year, representing 2.48 % increase.