(a) whether the Government proposes to ensure better experience for the tourists;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether a self-reliant tourism-based economy is likely to generate gainful employment opportunities for the youth in the region; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF STATE FOR TOURISM (INDEPENDENT CHARGE)
(SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL)
(a) & (b): The Ministry of Tourism has taken several steps over the years to ensure a better experience for the tourists as per details given below:
i. Launched the Swadesh Darshan Scheme with a vision to develop theme based tourist circuits.
ii. Launched the National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) Scheme for holistic development of identified pilgrimage destinations.
iii. Identified 19 Iconic Sites in the country for development by seeking convergence with other Central Ministries/Departments/ State Governments /Urban Local Bodies.
iv. Launched the Adopt a Heritage Project for development and maintenance of tourist amenities at heritage sites/monuments and other tourist sites.
v. Launched 24x7 toll free Multi-Lingual Tourist Helpline.
vi. Providing facility of e-Visa for 5 sub-categories i.e. e-Tourist visa, e-Business visa, e-Medical visa, e-Medical Attendant visa and e-Conference visa for nationals of 171 countries.
vii. E-Visa has been further liberalized and the visa fee has been substantially reduced.
viii. Launched Incredible India Tourist Facilitator Certification Programme, a digital initiative that aims at creating an online learning platform with the objective of creating a pool of well trained professional tourist facilitators across the country to support tourists.
ix. Conducting Programmes under the ‘Capacity Building for Service Providers’ (CBSP) Scheme to train and up-grade manpower to provide better service standards.
x. New mountain peaks have been opened for Mountaineering/Trekking to give boost to adventure tourism in the country.
xi. Lowering of GST on hotels rooms with tariffs of ?1,001 to ?7,500/night to 12%; those above ?7,501 to 18% to increase India’s competitiveness as a tourism destination.
xii. On the recommendation of the Ministry of Tourism, 46 tourism routes have been awarded to the identified airlines by Ministry of Civil Aviation under the RCS UDAN3 Scheme. 21 of these routes have been operationalized till date.
xiii. As per Archaeological Survey of India, CNBs signage in Chinese language at following five monuments in Uttar Pradesh have been installed.
• Site and stupa and monastery of the Sakyas Piprahwa- Lucknow Circle
• Sravasti – Lucknow Circle
• Ancient Buddhist site of Sarnath- Sarnath Circle
• Chaukhandi Stupa – Sarnath Circle
• Buddhist relics and Mahaparinirvana temple located at Kushinagar- Sarnath Circle.
The CNB signage in Sinhali language at Sanchi monuments in Madhya Pradesh has also been installed.
(c) & (d): Tourism sector is a major engine for economic growth and generation of employment opportunities. As per estimation in accordance with 3rd Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) for 2017-18 and 2018-19, the contribution of tourism for both direct and indirect jobs in the country is given below:
<pre>
2017-18 2018-19
Direct + Indirect jobs due to tourism (in million) 80.54 88.72
</pre>
Note: The above estimates have been updated using NAS 2020.
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