Tourism is a key driver of peace and prosperity, says Jagdeep Dhankhar

New Delhi: As part of World Tourism Day, the ministry of tourism undertook a slew of measures to boost India's tourism including launch of a content hub on Incredible India website, a new mechanism to get feedback from tourists in railway stations, and MoUs with hotel management institutes.

The ministry also gave awards to 36 villages across 8 categories for their work in the tourism sector, and named Paryatan Didis and Paryatan Mitras – volunteers to help tourists. Among the winners, Kuthlur from Karnataka has been awarded for adventure tourism.

Vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar, who was the chief guest at the function which took place at Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan, said that tourism is a key driver of peace and prosperity.

“India is a land of spirituality, sublimity, and here, with 5,000 years of civilisational ethos, tourists can experience all seasons, all year round. Tourism contributes massively to peace. The entire world is yearning for peace, and any conflagration anywhere is a pain for all, disrupting supply chains and economies,” Dhankar said.

The content hub, a digital repository featuring images, films, brochures, and newsletters related to tourism in India, is aimed to benefit several stakeholders, including tour operators, journalists, students, researchers, filmmakers, authors, influencers, content creators, government officials, and ambassadors, the ministry said.

Apart from information on destinations, attractions, crafts, festivals, travel diaries, itineraries, the ‘Book Your Travel’ feature provides booking facility for flights, hotels, cabs, buses, and monuments. An AI-powered chatbot is also part of the site functioning as a virtual assistant to answer queries and provide real-time information to travellers. Weather information, tour operator details, currency converter, airport information, visa-guide, etc can also be found.

The ministry is also introducing a mechanism at airports and railway stations across the country, for tourists to provide their feedback. This will be done through a QR code placed at relevant points at airports and railway stations, which can be scanned by tourists who can rate their experience and provide feedback. The ministry of tourism is collaborating with the ministry of civil aviation and the ministry of railways to set up these mechanisms at airports and railways.

The ministry also introduced the concept of Paryatan Mitra and Paryatan Didi, through which local tourism stakeholders such as cab drivers, auto drivers, staff at railway stations, airports, bus stations, hotel staff, restaurant workers, homestay owners, tour guides, police personnel, street vendors, shop keepers, students, and others were provided training and awareness on the importance of various facets of tourism, so that they can maintain the highest standards of hospitality and care.

Additionally, among the winners of the village competition are Tamil Nadu’s Keezhadi for heritage tourism, Kerala’s Kadalundi for responsible tourism, and Karde in Maharashtra for agri tourism. The competition, in its second year, saw participation from 991 applications from 30 States and UTs, an increase from the 795 villages that sent entries in the first year.

The ministry also signed MoUs with 8 national and global hospitality groups, including Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), IHG Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International, Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, ITC Group of Hotels, Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels, Radisson Group of Hotels, and Lemon Tree Hotels, for training and resource mobilisation purposes.