Selja meets Pranab, asks for budgetary sops for tourism

August 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Kumari Selja has called upon experts and stakeholders in the tourism sector to develop world class tourism infrastructure for putting India's tourism industry on the world tourism map. Inaugurating a workshop on the subject here today she said, "We should look at comprehensive development of infrastructure which includes roads, water, sanitation, cleanliness, hygiene, proper lighting, landscape, signages and proper maintenance of tourism destinations and heritage sites." She said tourism and hospitality sectors contributes six per cent of the GDP and certain streamlining is required in infrastructure facilities.

August 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Tourism Minister Kumari Selja will inaugurate a one-day workshop on World-Class Tourism Infrastructure here today. The objective of the workshop is to develop world class tourism infrastructure in consultation with architects, the engineering organisations, tourism managers and consultants.

August 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - "We should look through the eyes of tourists about what they expect from us," Tourism Minister Kumari Selja said here Wednesday, calling upon experts and all stakeholders to help put India on the world tourism map. "We need good hotels, infrastructure, connectivity for tourists.

August 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Meghalaya Governor Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary called on Union Tourism Minister Kumari Selja here today and told here that Megahalaya has vast tourism potential both for domestic as well as foreign tourists. He said, leave travel concession to the Central Government employees to visit the north-east has made Meghalaya quite popular among tourists.

August 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Tourism Minister Kumari Selja will inaugurate a one-day workshop on World-Class Tourism Infrastructure here tomorrow. The objective of the workshop is to develop world class tourism infrastructure in consultation with architects, the engineering organisations, tourism managers and consultants.

August 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Seeing the immense tourism potential of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the tourism ministry is organising a number of roadshows abroad to attract travellers, Tourism Minister Kumari Selja said here Monday. "The Commonwealth Games in India next year will be an important event, especially from the tourism point of view.

August 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The tourism ministry has, for the first time, organised a three-day training programme for its overseas officials by experts at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi in an effort to sharpen their marketing skills. Talking about the programme, Tourism Minister Kumari Selja said Monday that the ministry's officials will be trained to promote India better.

July 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Tourism Minister Kumari Selja Friday said there is a shortfall of at least 200,000 trained manpower in the tourism sector and they are taking steps to fill the gap. The minister informed the Lok Sabha that as per the estimation of the ministry based on a specific study in 2003-04, the yearly additional requirement of trained manpower of the hospitality industry is of about 200,000 people.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Tourism has not found much favour with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee who gave only a token Rs.20 crore increase in allocation for the ministry in the union budget presented Monday, with almost a third of the Rs.1,070 crore for promotion of the "Incredible India" campaign overseas. In a spur to adventure tourism in the country, Mukherjee announced custom duty exemption for water and snow equipment used in adventure tourism.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - With a view to giving a fillip to the tourism industry, which is witnessing a downturn due to the global meltdown, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee allocated Rs.1,070 crore to the sector in the union budget he presented in parliament Monday. Mukherjee also announced custom duty exemption for water and snow equipment to boost adventure tourism.

July 5th, 2009 PANAJI - The state tourism industry should be granted tax sops in the budget to be presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday, a leading industry chamber here has said. According to the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), the state's tourism infrastructure also needed needed to be upgraded if it were to compete with other tourist destinations the world over.

July 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Tourism Minister Kumari Selja on Wednesday said that government would announce new policy guidelines for promoting health tourism to increase the number of foreign tourist arrivals in India. Selja said this while speaking to media persons on the sidelines of the meeting to discuss the '100 days Agenda of Tourism Ministry' in New Delhi on Wednesday.

July 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Caravan and heliport tourism are among the "niche products" India will offer visitors as its tourism sector tries to cope with setbacks due to 26/11 and global recession, Tourism Minister Kumari Selja said Wednesday. Listing out her 100-day agenda, Selja said they were "developing niche tourism products".

June 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Tourism minister Kumari Selja on Wednesday postponed her next-month visit to Australia the series of attacks on Indian students in that country. "I am not going to Australia for the tourism promotional event scheduled in July," Selja said in the capital.

May 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India needs to attract more foreign tourists, whose number has dipped after the Mumbai terror attack and due to economic depression, Tourism Minister Kumari Selja said Saturday. "The tourism sector has a lot of challenges apart from attracting foreign tourists to India.