President, Ram Nath Kovind at the presentation of the National Tourism Awards 2015-16, on the occasion of World Tourism Day

New Delhi: The President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind presented the “National Tourism Awards, 2015-16” to various segments of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry at a function organised by the Ministry of Tourism on the occasion of “World Tourism Day” here today. Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism Shri Alphons Kannanthanam presided over the function. Tourism Ministers of States, Central and State Government Officials, Members from the Travel and Hospitality Industries, including leading Hoteliers, Travel Agents and Tour Operators, Students from Tourism and Hospitality Institutes, Mainstream and Travel Media attended the function.

The President launched the “Incredible India 2.0 Campaign”; ‘Adopt A Heritage’ Project and new Incredible India Website on the occasion. “Incredible India 2.0 Campaign” marks a shift from the present generic promotions being undertaken across the world, to market specific promotional plans and product specific creatives, with greater focus on digital presence and social media. ‘Adopt A Heritage’ Project plans to entrust heritage sites to the public sector and private sector companies and individuals for the development of tourist amenities. They will become ‘Monument Mitras’ and adopt bthe sites. The “New Incredible India Website” is an advanced version of the website with more useful features.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that tourism is one of the largest industries in the world. Its evolution can be estimated from the fact that the number of tourists all over the world has increased from 2.5 crore in 1950 to 123 crore in 2016. The tourism industry contributes 10.2 percent of the world’s GDP. It is estimated that every 10th person in the world works in the tourism industry. In India too, the livelihood of a very large number of people is linked to the tourism industry. In the year 2016, tourism’s contribution to GDP was 9.6 percent and 9.3 percent to total employment. The tourism industry can contribute significantly in generating permanent employment opportunities and eliminating poverty. According to an assessment, an investment of Rs. 10 lakh in tourism industry provides employment to about 90 people, while about 45 in agriculture, and about 13 people in manufacturing.

The President said that inclusive tourism development can strengthen inclusive economic development. Every citizen should strive to provide a good experience to tourists at his or her own level. In a tourism conscious society, the role of the government is only to provide direction and a facilitating environment.

He said that ‘Adopt a Heritage Project’ which was launched today, with the efforts of the Tourism Ministry, Culture Ministry and Archaeological Survey of India, has great potential to make our rich and diverse heritage monuments, tourist-friendly. He expressed hope that this project will help in the maintenance of our heritage with a partnership of the public and private sectors.

Shri Alphons Kannanthanam in his address congratulated the winners of the National Tourism Awards 2015-16 and called upon all to commit ourselves to transform India into one of the most preferred destinations for travellers around the world. He said that India’s Foreign Tourist Arrivals and Domestic Tourist visits are on a growth trajectory. India’s ranking in the Travel and Tourism Competitive Index 2017 of World Economic Forum moved from 65^th position to 52^nd position in 2015 and now India’s position has moved up by another 12 positions and are ranked at 40^th position.

He said India is a destination which meets the needs of all travellers. Our collective goal is to develop the tourism sector in India in a sustainable and responsible manner. Tourism is in an enviable position with the inherent capacity to create large scale employment, eradicate poverty, benefit local communities economically and socially, and to generate awareness and support for conservation of the environment. Our policies and actions must aim to strengthen the benefits and reduce the costs of tourism. He called upon leaders of travel and tourism industry to share their vision and innovative ideas on tourism, so as to translate the grand vision of the Prime Minister in transforming India’s tourism sector.

In her welcome address Smt. Rashmi Verma, Secretary, M/o Tourism said that the tourism sector in India has been performing well over the past few years with an increasing growth. rate, higher than the World average growth rate. In 2016, India welcomed 8.80 million foreign tourists, an increase of 9.7% over the previous year. The current year also looks very promising with a double digit growth rate of 15.7% in Foreign Tourist Arrivals recorded during the period January to July 2017. This would not have been possible without the support and cooperation of our partners in the Tourism sector.

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India presents National Tourism Awards to various segments of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry annually. These awards are presented to State Governments / Union Territories, classified hotels, heritage hotels, approved travel agents, tour operators, tourist transport operators, individuals and other private organizations in recognition of their performance in their respective fields. The National Tourism Awards have, over the years emerged as a prestigious recognition of achievements in the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors. The date for the Awards function was selected to coincide with World Tourism Day which is celebrated annually on 27^th September. The purpose of World Tourism Day celebrations is to foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value.

LIST OF AWARD WINNERS OF NATIONAL TOURISM AWARDS (2015-16) IN DIFFERENT CATEGORIES