It was a pleasure to address a session on ‘Future Challenges and Opportunities for Amusement Industry in India’ at the Annual Meet & Training Program of Indian Association of Amusement Parks & Industries (IAAPI) at Bengaluru.

The Amusement, Water and Theme Park Industry in India is still a nascent industry as part of overall tourism market and is relatively new when compared to its origin in USA and Europe. The industry therefore has immense untapped potential in India, both in domestic as well as International sectors in the coming decade.

As per estimates, the industry generated annual revenue of INR 25 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow to almost 3 times, by the year 2025.

Having confronted the onslaught of covid in a resilient manner, despite being one of the worst affected sectors, the industry expects to register manifold increase in footfall and is likely to get large investments, both in private and in public-private-participation mode, in days to come.

The Amusement Industry is highly employment oriented, inclusive, attracts visitors of all ages and has a high happiness factor. However, the industry faces multiple challenges on its way to faster growth, like procuring land at a high cost, huge capital investments, high import duties & tax rates and increasing operational expenses.

The support of Govt of India and the State Govts, is therefore much needed by this Industry, through policies, incentives and fiscal initiatives, to catalyze its growth. Many State Govts have already taken the laudable initiative of granting Industry status to the Amusement Industry in their State Tourism Policies. Other States, may also consider to grant this status, as it may be a win-win situation for both.

Ministry of Tourism may also consider a dedicated chapter on Amusement Industry in its forthcoming National Tourism Policy, to give the required focus and hand holding to this Industry and to bring this industry to the mainstream of India Tourism.

I congratulate Ms Shruti Sharma for emerging as a Topper in the Civil Services Exam 21-22.
It was nice to interact with her during the Mock Interview.
I wish her all the success in her career in the IAS.

Looking forward to participating and speaking at the Inaugural ceremony of the International Conference !!

I have visited Taj Mahal number of times in the past but could not resist watching this ‘thing of beauty’ once again. Even the fear of incoming ‘omicron’ did not deter me and thousands of visitors to view different shades and moods of this ‘ wonder of the world’ on a sunny day in the last week of outgoing 2021, giving a loud and clear message , that tourism is unstoppable ; and that if travellers adhere to covid appropriate behaviour while travelling and be responsible tourists, they can visit anywhere in India safely.

I must compliment the ASI and all concerned authorities for having placed a robust mechanism of crowd management at the Taj, so much necessary these days, for the health safety of the visitors.

The online availability of entry tickets on an ASI portal and the’ bar code reader’ for tickets, at the entrance have further enabled seamless and contact less passage into the monument.

The battery operated private vehicles and the vans run by Agra Development Authority, are not only environmentally friendly, but also
give a good message to the visitors towards sustainable tourism .

It was also nice to see that the hotel of stay in Agra was following all covid related protocols,
dispelling the fear of staying at hotels amidst pandemic and giving the much-required comfort of health-safety.

In the present scenario , when reopening of international travelling may take some more time, I wish to once again call upon both, the domestic and outbound travellers to #dekhoapnaincredibleindia .

I am extremely glad to know that Vill’ O Tale has won the prestigious ‘National Startup Awards 2021’ in Travel Sector, given away by Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.

I extend my heartiest congratulations to Mr Soumen and Mr Shuddha, the indefatigable founders of the Vill’O Tale ,who have not only earned admiration from one and all for their grand success, but have also made me personally proud , for being a ‘Mentor and Advisor’ of Vill’O Tale. Ever since my association with them, beginning 2019, in this capacity, I have seen them growing from strength to strength. I admire their perseverance, tirelessness and innovative capabilities, that has made them scale these heights.

Vill’O Tale is a startup in experiential and destination tourism in rural space, engaging local community. It is an ecosystem of branded home stays and local community, to showcase and promote the culture , traditions and village lifestyle of rural India.

In fact, Vill’O Tale’s success sends the following messages to the tourism world:

• That Startups in the travel and tourism sector in India can also succeed and aim to become unicorns.
• That India has a huge opportunity to showcase its unique rural tourism, where India can outsmart other world destinations and,
• That a model like Vill’O Tale is a perfect example of Sustainable Tourism, as it is based on revenue sharing model with a major share of income going back to the villages and involving local community.

I wish the Vill’O Tale team, all the best in their future endeavours and to take their Startup to greater heights.

And I call upon the young professionals in the travel and tourism space, to take benefits of the Startup India Scheme of Union Government and be successful entrepreneurs in Travel and Tourism sector.

Murshidabad, the focus district of border tourism webinar on West Bengal, has a huge border with Bangladesh and is one of the lesser known historical destinations that speaks volumes about the modern history and rich heritage of India.

Murshidabad was the last capital city of independent Bengal before British rule. Plassey(Palashi) where the historic battle of Plassey was fought in 1757 is only 40 kilometres from Murshidabad.

The rich history and heritage of Murshidabad can be visualised in heritage monuments like Hazarduari Palace, Nizamat Imambara ,Roshni Bagh, Pareshnath Temple and Jahankosha Cannon.

In fact, Murshidabad has an outstanding heritage value and the required criteria for being considered for selection as a UNESCO heritage city.

My address at the webinar, organised by PHD Chamber, with the support of Ministry of Tourism, can be viewed in the attached video.

It was a pleasure to participate and speak at the Border Tourism webinar, with focus on West Bengal as a Border State to Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

West Bengal, termed by State Tourism as ” The Sweetest Part of India” offers immense scope for Border Tourism, with almost a dozen districts bordering one of the three neighbouring countries.

At the same time the State has the potential to be the ‘Gateway’ of cross border tourism with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

My compliments to PHDCCI and Ministry of Tourism for highlighting the scope of Border Tourism in India, through a webinar series.

Ladakh is a ‘Gold Standard’ destination of India, poised to be one of the most preferred for Border Tourism and ‘Quality tourism’.

The unique geo-climate and topographical conditions of Ladakh make it a destination, unlike any other in the world.

Ladakh’s history goes back to the era of the visits of Fa-Hien and Hiuen Tsang . The recent history of Kargil and the international boundaries are other big attractions to visit this border region.

Culturally extremely rich, the Monastries and the Monastic festival of Ladakh are a great attraction for travellers from all over the world. A known hub of Archery and Polo sports, it is said that Polo came to Ladakh in early 17th century.

It is heartening to know that ‘A Tourism vision for Ladakh’ document has been unveiled recently, during an event organised by Ministry of Tourism and Ladakh Tourism at Leh.

While Ladakh urgently needs better ease of access, improved connectivity and upgradation of Tourism infrastructure for holistic development of tourism, it is important that Ladakh Ecosystem, being very sensitive to Environment, development of tourism in this region must be guided by the principles of Sustainable and Responsible tourism.

I compliment PHDCCI and Ministry of Tourism for undertaking the unique initiative of promoting Border Tourism , another ‘ colourful feather’ discovered , in the cap of ‘Incredible India’.

My address, on the occasion of webinar is in the attached video / link.