Friday, March 18, 2011

Ministry of Tourism to Develop Quality Infrastructure
Annual Report of The Ministry Released


Ministry of Tourism has made consistent efforts to develop quality tourism infrastructure at tourist destinations and circuits. This has been disclosed in the annual report of the Ministry of Tourism released here today. To focus on development of infrastructure at places of national and international importance, the Ministry, through its scheme of providing financial assistance to the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations, has identified 38 mega tourism projects, out of which 26 have been sanctioned till 4th February, 2011.

The Ministry also took an initiative to interact with other Central Government Ministries such as Railways, Food Processing and Urban Development, and also the concerned State Government to achieve convergence so that the impact of investment at the identified destinations is maximized. The Ministry has identified 24 destinations/ circuits in India, based on their tourism potential, to be covered in the first phase of this initiative.

In order to meet the huge skill gap in the hospitality industry, the Ministry has adopted a multipronged strategy which includes strengthening and expanding the institutional infrastructure for training and education. For this purpose, Ministry of Tourism has decided to support creation of new Institutes of Hotel Management (IHM) and Food Craft Institutes (FCI) in States besides providing financial assistances for modernization and capacity enhancement of existing IHMs and FCIs. Under its ‘Hunar Se Rozgar Tak’ training programme for creating employable skills in the hospitality sector, the ministry has trained 4960 youth by 31st December, 2010 against the target of 5500 for 2010-11.

Ministry of Tourism, through its overseas offices, engaged actively in events like road shows and joint promotions with major international airlines linking India to the markets abroad. These road shows highlighted various tourism products and were followed by one-to –one business meetings between the foreign and Indian travel trade delegations. India Tourism Office participated in a number of travel fairs and exhibitions in important tourist generating markets the world over as well as in emerging and potential markets to showcase and promote tourism products of the country.

For cooperation with other countries in the tourism sector, Ministry of Tourism held high-level bilateral discussions with Syria, Mexico, Cyprus, Peru, Sri Lanka, Trinidad & Tobago and Indonesia. The Ministry of Tourism and International Finance Corporation (A member of the World Bank Group) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 27.10.2010 for the implementation of Integrated Buddhist Circuit Development Strategy.

In its commitment to deliver effective and responsive governance, Ministry of Tourism has formulated its Results Framework Document highlighting its objectives, actions and measurable performance indicators. The ministry has also prepared its Strategic Plan for next five years and the Citizen’s/ Client’s Charter.

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