A few months after over 20 hoteliers pulled out of the Commonwealth Games, the Tourism Ministry has finally decided to act, amid rising speculation that the rest of the hotel projects will miss their deadlines.

In order to speed up the construction of hotels in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) before the 2010 Games, the Tourism ministry has now urged the Finance ministry to extend the benefits of the five-year tax holiday for hotels that will finish construction work by July 31 instead of the earlier deadline, March 31.

Sources in the Tourism ministry confirmed that considering the delay in completion of most hotel projects, Union Minister of Tourism Kumari Selja has urged the Finance ministry to extend the deadline.

Tax holiday scheme

• Introduced by Finance ministry in 2007
  
• Extended to two, three, four-star hotels and convention centres
  
• Under present terms, only hotels that become operational by March-end can benefit

Source: The Indian Express By Ayesha Arvind Extend tax holiday for hotels till July, Pranab urged

Receiving over 30 enthusiasts, including IT professionals, academicians, architects, environmentalists, students, social activists from different parts of Capital, NCR and some foreign countries, the 12-km long `heritage ride' began from Pragati Maidan and extended to localities along Mathura Road and in the vicinity of Nizamuddin area.

The participants pedalled to Humayun Tomb, Purana Quila, Matka Pir, Sabzburz, Tomb of Rahim Khankhana, Nizamuddin Dargah Complex, Tombs of Mirza Ghalib and Amir Khusro, Shershah Suri Gate during a two-hour free guided tour.

The bad news is that information, specially on accommodation and tourist packages, remains scanty. While the OC website has information, it's targeted more at the officials and sports technicians than general tourists. Said a senior OC official, ``There is information on 31 hotels on our website, while we have already booked 2,662 rooms for the delegates. Another 5,500 rooms will be made available by ITDC for the technical staff and other officials and media persons. ' ' However, the OC official admitted that basic information for tourists was not yet available. ``The Bed & Breakfast destinations are still being updated and will be put up on the site only after registration and approval of the ministry of tourism,'' added the official.

And therein lies the problem. Delhi government, which will also be hosting the website for information on tourists, has been trying to get the B&Bs as well as guesthouses registered information before March, when the site is supposed to be operational. However, officials admit that registration has been a slow affair.

Meanwhile, Delhi government, anticipating hordes of tourists to descend on the city for the Commonwealth Games, has set up a repository of all information on cultural events in the form of a website.

The website, to be complete by March, will not only have information on shows and events put up by government organisations but will also showcase plays, fetes and other events.

Said an official, ``For the first time information on events will be put together in one place, to facilitate tourists who visit the city."According to the official, the site will not be confined to just a listing of cultural events."

Minister of State for Tourism Kumari Selja made the announcement at an International Buddhist Heritage Conference in Nalanda in Bihar.

According to a tourism ministry official, any tourist, domestic or international, can call the helpline for information about a place he or she intends to visit.

"They can also call the number when in distress or in an emergency," she said.

Selja added: "In December 2009, the foreign tourist arrivals in India saw a 21 percent increase over the same period in 2008. The future looks bright. We expect buoyancy to return to the sector soon."

In the scheme, for which advertising has already begun, interested guesthouse owners can contact the Delhi Tourism department and submit requests for inspection of their establishments.

The advantage? The owners will be entitled to concessions that will be decided in future. Names of the graded guesthouses will be put up on the Tourism Department website, where prospective tourists to the city will be able to check them out.

Visitors will also be able to check the facilities provided beforehand and book accommodation according to budget and necessity.

The guesthouses will be graded according to the kinds of facilities on offer. Availability of attached bathrooms, air-conditioning etc will be awarded more points. Guesthouses that want to register themselves have to be licence-holders of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Corporation or the Delhi Cantonment Board. A list of the guidelines can be obtained from Room 176, Old Secretariat. The grading will be valid for five years.

Source: The Indian Express By Hamari Jamatia Now, city guesthouses to be graded by Tourism dept

What has raised concern for immigration authorities is the "dramatic" increase in the numbers of student visa-seekers. Their numbers were 13,500 between October and December, 2009 compared to 1,800 in 2008 and 1,000 in 2007 in the corresponding period, leading them to scrutinise the system and applications thoroughly before inviting more applications. Dix said they would examine all applications to see if they are genuine and financially capable of pursuing education in Britain.

All applicants who had their appointments before February 1 would not be affected but those having their appointments after it would have to wait for a new date once the High Commission completes its scrutiny and arrives at a decision. Though Dix said opportunities provided in Britain could be a factor in the increase and so could be the dramatic drop in number of students seeking to go to Australia for studies, but officials said unscrupulous travel agents might be exploiting the student visa category due to huge demand in the region for getting visas to Britain.

British deputy high commissioner Nigel Casey said a dramatic increase in applications as well as concerns about their quality were the primary reasons behind the decision.

"Lakhs of foreign travellers are expected to visit the capital during the mega event, and registration will streamline the travel operators," a senior Delhi government official said.

With the extravaganza drawing near, several agents have launched new deals to attract domestic and foreign travellers for sightseeing tours in Delhi and nearby states.

The government's move is aimed at cracking down on fly-by-night operators who bring a bad name to the tourism industry by cheating travellers and tourists.

"We want to encourage serious players as well as instill confidence among tourists. Hence, we will allow only license holders to carry out their business. Non-license holders will be strictly dealt with," he said.

This will also help the government access a vast database, creating an avenue for revenue and curbing malpractices.

According to the recent studies and surveys by business chamber, ASSOCHAM, around 10 million international tourists are planning to visit India during the Commonwealth Games.

This facility would soon be available to the people, who will not have to stand in queue to get a common entry ticket.

The facility would cover all Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected monuments across the country.

"The recently introduced common entry tickets have received a very good response.
Now, these tickets would be available online," said Jawahar Sircar, Secretary (Culture), on Wednesday.

Stating that it was an initiative of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who also holds the portfolio of Culture Ministry, Sircar said the ASI monuments would soon get communicative signage, telling visitors about the importance of the places.

He was speaking at the silver jubilee celebrations of Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), a non-profit organization working in the field of conservation.

The day also marked the NGO's two-day All India State Convener's Meet.

"Delhi has the largest number of monuments (but) heritage should not just mean monuments. Water bodies are equally important," said Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. "There was a time when Delhi had more than 325 water bodies. Of these, few have been used for constructing houses." Praising INTACH for its 25 years of work, Dikshit said funds for heritage conservation should not be a problem at all.

Casually dressed men, women and children sunbathing on charpoys in front of terracotta and ochre-coloured mud and straw huts. The only sound one hears is the chirping of birds and the rustle of trees in the chilly December wind.

This is Surjivan! It's not a village in Rajasthan's hinterland, but a farmhouse near Sohna, 30 km from Delhi, which provides packaged tailor-made rural experience to urban Indians looking for a slice of village life.

An increasing number of Delhiites are travelling to scenic farmhouses in the countryside around Gurgaon and Faridabad, not just to unwind, but to familiarise their children with their `roots'. It has given a strong fillip to farm tourism in the NCR. "Ours is a purely rustic place, which exposes city dwellers to authentic village life--something most of them have never experienced. Many of my guests are top-notch professionals who come here and relax on charpoys while gazing at the stars," says Deven Srivastav, director, Surjivan.

The guests live in farmhouses and eat food prepared in chulhas.

For recreation, Surjivan organises activities such as tractor and bullockcart rides, rural games such as gillidanda, pitthu, lattoo kanchey, teerandazee, Rassa-kashi, etc. Besides this, the farm boasts of several medicinal, aromatic and mythological plants such as the Kalp Vriksh, and also engages its guests in cattle-feeding and cow milking activities.

Haryana Tourism launched the concept of farm tourism in 2004, when it persuaded some farm owners to open their gates to tourists. Today, there are 18 such farms in the NCR that provide rural experience packages to city slickers. Each farm has its own USP.

If Surjivan--which grows everything from wheat, gram and vegetables to pulses, oil and spices--prides itself on its rustic charm, Botanix, another famous farmhouse near Damdaa Lake in the area, describes itself as a biodiversity village. Spread across a whopping 40 acres, the farm offers its guests the options of staying in not just mud huts, but also in tents and igloos. But Botanix's real USP is its myriad theme gardens. There's a shrub garden, a fragrance garden, a rose garden, a herb garden, a butterfly garden, etc. It's orchidarium showcases rare species of carnivorous plants.

Manoj Sharma manoj.sharma@hindustantimes.com

Source: Hindustan Times By Manoj Sharma Back To The Roots: A Custom-Made Rustic Package

The Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation (DTTDC) plans to set up a 24-hour customer-care service that will help tourists by booking cabs, providing directions to a tourist spot and giving them details of various travelling options.

Despite Delhi's rich cultural and historical heritage, tourists arriving in the city give it a miss and head out for nearby destinations like Jaipur or the hill stations in North India. The DTTDC is now working on a new website to facilitate online booking of cabs, provide information on tour packages and hotels in the city to encourage tourists to explore Delhi's numerous historical monuments and other tourist hotspots.

"It will be easier to stay in Delhi after booking a tour package and fixing up a place to stay on the Internet," Rina Ray, managing director of DTTDC, says.

The new website will start functioning around August and so will the customer-care service. The department is in talks with a few Business Process Outsourcing companies to handle the services. The caller will have to pay the call charge.

Source: The Indian Express Before Games, govt to launch site for easier `Delhi darshan'

The ` DS- 160 form' will be available on the embassy's official website from January 19. The form incorporates all existing NIV application forms ( DS- 156, 157 and 158) into one interactive, online form.

" Applicants will continue to complete visa application forms online, as they did previously with the electronic visa application form," the embassy said.

The new form is expected to cut processing delays as applications could be pre- processed and prescreened before an applicant's interview. Indians are among the top 10 visitors to the US.

The new rules state that those coming to India on business visas can't work until they get employment visas. There are 1,395 foreigners working on projects for the Defence Ministry and 159 for the Department of Atomic Energy, all on B-visas. So, the Centre will convert all their B-visas into E-visas.

China and Russia had taken up the matter of the new rules with the External Affairs Ministry.

"We are looking at flexibility on government-to-government category projects -- dealing with defence, DAE and nuclear power. Considering the sensitivity and national interest involved, visa conversion needs to be streamlined," a government official said.

As of now, the Home Ministry is expected to complete security vetting for an E-visa applications within 45 days. If this doesn't happen, the Indian missions "may" take it that the ministry has cleared the application and process it. "We need clarity on this," the official said.

Also, the official added, the "surge in projects" necessitates an examination of the old rule that foreigners should not exceed one per cent of the project workforce or a maximum of 20.

Citing the changes made by several countries like US and UK after terror strikes on their soil, senior officials here argued that it should be left to the home ministry to chalk out plans for securing the nation.

Ministry officials pointed out that the government had so far not received any formal complaint from any country, including the US or the UK, after the new visa rules were implemented. Only a few clarifications had been sought by Washington and they have been addressed, they said.

"When some foreign missions based in India sought clarity, we told them that if someone has to worry about tourist arrivals, it is India and not any other nation," said an official.

As per the new visa rules, no tourist having a travel document valid for 180 days would be allowed to return to the country before a cooling-off period of two months.

Source: Times Of India No change in new tourist visa norms: Govt

This is a step towards evolving a `code of conduct' for all tourism service providers and protecting the culture, values and heritage to ensure long-term sustainable and responsible tourism in India.

It has been decided that sensitisation programmes and awareness campaigns would be launched immediately across the country and an action plan would be drawn up so as to have the code of conduct in place within six months.

Reliable sources in the Ministry told The Hindu that this initiative is a result of interaction among Tourism Secretary Sujit Banerjee, Save the Children India, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Equitable Tourism Option and NEST India Foundation through the Pacific Asia Travel Association India Chapter.

Collaboration

The Ministry would also work with the National Commission for Women and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to focus on the prevention of abuse and exploitation of women and children.

The code of conduct is also expected to promote India as a safe destination for women, sources said.

Boost image

The initiative has been taken to enhance the country's image and add more value to the `Incredible India' Campaign, particularly in the wake of upcoming Commonwealth Games 2010 when a large number of foreigners are expected to visit India.