India approves 105 tourism projects worth US$960m

Thanks to several efforts by the Ministry of Tourism in close collaboration with various stakeholders, a total of 105 projects worth US$960 million have been sanctioned under the Swadesh Darshan and PRASHAD Schemes. The initiatives aim to strengthen India’s position as a global tourism destination. Earlier this year, India had climbed up six ranks to rank the 34th position on the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report out of 140 countries. 

Some of the mechanisms to seek synergy with different stakeholders include: 

• The National Conference of State Tourism Ministers to discuss the development of tourism sector 
• The National Tourism Advisory Council as a think tank of experts from tourism to advise the Ministry
• The Inter-Ministerial Coordination Committee on Tourism Sector (IMCCTS) helps resolve inter-Ministerial issues
• Periodic meetings to take inputs from stakeholders in the tourism sector about developments in the space

To further adventure tourism in India, the Ministry of Tourism has also classified 31 activities under land-based, water-based, and air-based sectors under the revised Indian Adventure Tourism Guidelines. Adventure tourism activities take place at various spots in India, and is carried out under the supervision of state governments. The Ministry of Tourism provides Central Financial Assistance to state governments under various schemes for the development of infrastructure for adventure tourism.

The Ministry of Tourism promotes India as a holistic destination to boost tourism in the country. Some of the initiatives implemented to further this are:

• The Swadesh Darshan Scheme, to develop theme-based tourist circuits
• The National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) Scheme for holistic development of identified pilgrimage destinations
• The Adopt a Heritage Project for development and maintenance of heritage sites
• Development of niche tourism products to attract tourists with specific interests 
• Launch of 24×7 Toll-Free Multilingual Tourist Helpline
• Promoting India as a holistic tourism destination through the Incredible India 2.0 campaign, including revamping the website
• Providing an e-Visa facility in five subcategories for nationals of 169 countries
• Launch of the Incredible India Tourist Facilitator Programme on a digital platform 
• Lowering of GST on hotels rooms to increase India’s competitiveness as a tourism destination.

A total of 77 projects amounting to US$850 million and 28 projects amounting to US$ 118 million have been sanctioned under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme and PRASHAD Scheme respectively.