Press Release
“EVERY DOLLAR RETAINED IN THE COUNTRY IS A DOLLAR EARNED”
– Suman Billa
Joint Secretary, Tourism
Government of India
No other sector can take better advantage of the demography of our country other than tourism. India has an immense potential for tourism – both international and national — which needs to be tapped equally. Rajasthan Domestic Travel Mart (RDTM) is an apt initiative in this respect and is a model that other states should emulate. This was stated by Joint Secretary, Government of India, Mr. Suman Billa who was addressing the inaugural ceremony of the 3-day Rajasthan Domestic Travel Mart (RDTM) at Hotel Clarks Amer in Jaipur as the Chief Guest.
Highlighting the various initiatives of the governments to boost tourist arrivals in the country such as electronic visa, helpline number, among others, Mr. Billa shared that in 2017 the country achieved the 10 million mark in foreign tourist arrivals. In 2018, this has reached to 16 million which shows a growth of 15.8%.Throwing light on domestic tourism, he said that in 2016, 1.6 billion domestic tourist visits were recorded and went up to 1.74 billion in 2017. The major growth in domestic tourist arrivals is seen from Tier 2 & Tier 3 cities rather than metropolitan cities.
Principal Secretary, Tourism, Government of Rajasthan, Mr. Kuldeep Ranka in his theme address said that the aggressive marketing campaign of Rajasthan Tourism which began two-and-a-half years ago has paid rich dividends to the tourist arrivals to the State. Dovetailing this with the increased air connectivity has made Rajasthan a preferred tourist destination for many visitors. The air connectivity increase can be gauged by the fact that in the year 2017-18 Jaipur saw an increase by 64.80%, Udaipur by 61% and Jodhpur by 55%. The number of flights in Jaipur have increased from 38 to as many as 70.
The Vice Chancellor of Rajasthan ILD Skill Development University, Mr. Lalit K. Panwar said that Human Resource was the missing link which could play a huge difference in the level of services to be provided. He said that the University will soon be equipped to provide appropriate knowledge partners as well as trained manpower for various segments of the tourism and travel trade.
Earlier, the President of FHTR, Mr. Bhim Singh said that the sole objective of the RTDM is to promote domestic tourism in the State. Increase in tourism will mean increase in GDP and more jobs. He informed that almost 5000 pre-structured meetings had already been registered between 200 buyers from all over India and 160 booths comprising of sellers from Rajasthan.
The Vote of Thanks was proposed by the Senior Vice President, Federation of Hospitality and Tourism of Rajasthan (FHTR), Mr Randhir Vikram Singh. The Secretary General, FHTR, Mr Gyan Parakash moderated the programme.
On the occasion a book entitled “Enchanting Rajasthan” prepared by TTJ was also released by the dignitaries on the dais.