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Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Sh. Anurag Thakur felicitated the Olympic medalists, namely Neeraj Chopra, Ravi Kumar Dahiya, , Bajrang Punia, Lovlina Borgohain, and the men’s national Hockey team, at a gala felicitation program at the Ashoka Hotel in New Delhi. Among those present on the occasion to felicitate them also included Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju; Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Nisith Pramanik; Secretary-Sports Ravi Mittal, and Director-General, Sports Authority of India, Sandip Pradhan. The felicitation ceremony was held to honour the Indian players’ performance at Tokyo.

In commitment to providing safe environment for Hon’ble MPs, officials and dignitaries at Parliament House Complex, ITDC staff gets fully vaccinated. Hon’ble Minister for Tourism, Culture and Development of North Eastern Region, Sh. G. Kishan Reddy Ji releasing the Vaccination Badge in recognition of the initiative.In commitment to providing safe environment for Hon’ble MPs, officials and dignitaries at Parliament House Complex, ITDC staff gets fully vaccinated. Hon’ble Minister for Tourism, Culture and Development of North Eastern Region, Sh. G. Kishan Reddy Ji releasing the Vaccination Badge in recognition of the initiative.

ORGANISING WEDDING FUNCTIONS POST LOCKDOWN : adhering to all COVID-19 and Guest Safety Protocols

The Ashok Hotel joined hands with New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to organise a vaccination camp at their premises. The camp vaccinated almost 200 front-line employees of ITDC. ITDC has been rigorously hosting sessions and helping the front-line workers on preparedness and readiness of the sector.

National, 12th July, 2021: In a bid to revive tourism and strengthen bilateral relationship between India and Saudi Arabia, Trade Promotion Council of India organised a webinar on Tourism Collaboration between India and Saudi Arabia with the support of embassies of both countries.

Eminent panellists included HE Dr Ausaf Sayeed, Ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia; Mr. G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, IAS, C&MD, ITDC; Mr. Augustus Simon, Director Indian Subcontinent – Saudi Tourism Authority; Mr Ashok Sethi, Director, Trade Promotion Council of India; various industry stakeholders and partners.

Speaking on strengthening Tourism Collaboration between India and Saudi Arabia, Mr. G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, IAS, C&MD, ITDC, on behalf of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, said, “India holds 10th position globally as far as Medical Value Tourism is concerned, due to affordability, accessibility, and availability of medical facilities. It is the 7th dominating country in the world and 3rd in Asia Pacific region in terms of wellness tourism. India has received 4.95 lakh medical tourist in 2017 which has gone up to over 7 lakhs in 2019. With 800 NABH and 36 JCI accredited hospitals, India is a viable destination for medical facilities due to a robust ecosystem which is already well developed. Medical Value Tourism (MVT) is one of the 10 champion sectors identified by the Government of India, and we are perhaps the only country in the world with a dedicated Ministry of alternate healing and traditional medicine, the Ministry of AYUSH, which promotes Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy medicine. Ayurveda is taking off in a very big way world-wide, with its proven efficacy in the post-COVID recovery phase.”

In addition to MVT, it was highlighted that India can offer Saudi Arabian tourists a vast sea-coast with pristine beaches and a huge forest cover with 566 wildlife sanctuaries and 104 National Parks which are a great alternative to wildlife tourism offered by Africa, for example. India is also promoting MICE sector in a big way and while people from Saudi Arabia might find it cheaper to visit Dubai for events, India is definitely more economical destination.

Referring to the country’s diverse natural heritage, Mr. Rao mentioned India’s costal tourism with 7500 km of coastline as well as about the exquisite experience of monsoon tourism in Karnataka and Kerala. He also talked about the renewed thrust on reviving tourism in the wide snow-capped landscape of Kashmir and in scenic Leh and Ladakh as well as on the special focus of developing tourism in nature-rich North East. Also, as a boost to International tourism in India, Mr. Rao highlighted that Indian Government has announced issuing of free tourists visas for first 5 lakh tourists once visa issuance is restarted.

With HE Dr Ausaf Sayeed, Ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia emphasizing on lifting of tourism restrictions for tourists and on tailor made tourist packages centring around medical tourism, religious tourism, heritage tourism, nature tourism, and ecotourism, both India and Saudi Arabia are looking forward to a strong synergy for the revival of tourism.

The industry body ASSOCHAM held a round table discussion on the Revival of the Tourism Sector, attended by industry leaders with the aim to shed light on key focus areas for the revival of segment, the way forward and how the industry can convert the crisis into an opportunity.

Addressing the gathering, Shri. Arvind Singh, Tourism Secretary, Government of India, mentioned, “We have to inculcate confidence in the minds of the travelers. The pain points of the travel sector have been discussed. What we are going through is once in a century event, we have seen ups and down and after every down there is always an up. We have seen the same in first wave, where there was a revival after a pushback. We are hearing signs of revival, with people travelling to the hills. We are witnessing the revival again from the second wave of the pandemic in the domestic tourism sector. The ministry of tourism has kept dialogue & door open with the industry. Lot of suggestions have come up which we have examined and have taken up with the finance ministry and the other stakeholders”.

Putting forth his views while presenting how India as a destination can become a leader in the space of Medical Value Tourism C&MD ITDC Shri. G.Kamala Vardhana Rao said, “The increasing globalization of healthcare services has led to the rise of medical tourism. India is visited not only for its tradition, enthralling beauty, and delightful diversity but also for its high-end healthcare ecosystem and world-class medical treatment. Over the years, India has become a premier and attractive destination for travelers from across the globe to attain best-in-class clinical treatment, recharge, and rejuvenate. Moving ahead, the tourism sector would require constant support from the domestic travelers to drive the demand in a post-pandemic world.

The round table discussion was also attended by senior functionaries across tourism sector.

संसदीय राजभाषा समिति की दूसरी उप समिति द्वारा दिनांक 29.06.2021 को विज्ञान भवन, नई दिल्ली में भारत पर्यटन विकास निगम मुख्यालय (आईटीडीसी) के साथ निरीक्षण- बैठक सफलतापूर्वक संपन्न हुई। इस बैठक में उपाध्यक्ष माननीय सांसद श्री भर्तृहरि महताब और माननीय संयोजक महोदया प्रो. रीता बहुगुणा जोशी के अलावा अन्य माननीय सांसदगण उपस्थित थे। आईटीडीसी का प्रतिनिधित्व श्री जी कमलावर्धन राव, आईएएस, अध्यक्ष व प्रबंध निदेशक ने किया। उनके साथ श्री पीयूष तिवारी, निदेशक (वाणिज्यिक व विपणन), आईटीडीसी, सुश्री शशि महंत, प्रबंधक (राजभाषा) और पर्यटन मंत्रालय से श्री ज्ञान भूषण, आर्थिक सलाहकार और श्री मनोज दुबे, सहायक निदेशक (राजभाषा) बैठक में उपस्थित थे। माननीय समिति ने निगम में हो रहे राजभाषा हिंदी के कार्यों की समीक्षा की एवं मार्गदर्शन किया।