FICCI : Industry's Voice for Policy Change

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged Indian startups to innovate for the tourism sector in the post-pandemic world even as “the tourism sector in India has been growing well in the last five years.” Addressing the inauguration of India’s first full-fledged international cruise terminal in Kerala, PM Modi said that “since the global pandemic has affected international travel, people are going to nearby places. This is a great opportunity for us. On one hand, this means added livelihood to those in the local tourism industry. On the other hand, it makes the connect between our youth and our culture stronger. There is so much to see, learn and discover. I urge our young start-up friends to think about innovative tourism-related products.” PM Modi also noted India’s jump in the World Tourism Index ranking from 65th in 2013 to 34th rank in 2019.

The government last month had extended the suspension of scheduled international passenger flights till February 28. Even as such flights have been suspended since March 23 post Covid induced lockdown, the government has been operating special international flights under the Vande Bharat Mission since May 2020. According to Statista, domestic tourist visits increased from 220 million in 2000 to around 2.3 billion in 2019 even as the sector is expected to grow at 6.7 per cent per annum to become Rs 35 trillion market with 9.6 per cent of GDP by 2029, according to FICCI-Yes Bank 2019 report.

In 2020, less than 3 million foreign tourists had visited India, down around 75 per cent vis-à-vis previous year amid travel restrictions due to the pandemic. The number of foreign tourist arrivals in India in 2019 stood at 10.93 million up from 10.56 million in 2018, according to the information provided by Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha earlier this month.

Travel Biz Monitor | Feb 11, 2021

FICCI appoints EbixCash’s Naveen Kundu as Co-Chairman of its Domestic Tourism Committee

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) has appointed Naveen Kundu, Managing Director of EbixCash Travel Services, as the Co-Chairman for its Domestic Tourism Committee.

FICCI Domestic Tourism Committee is working as a sub-committee under the aegis of FICCI Tourism Committee to address the various issues and roadblocks in terms of domestic travel and technology which act as a hindrance for sustaining the rapid growth of this sector.

In his new role, Naveen will be involved with various government agencies and tourism committees to strengthen the foot prints of domestic tourism in India.

“My vision has always been to enhance the domestic tourism demand of what is called the untouched India for which I already have won of national awards by the Government of India, build a core team at FICCI who can help promote & push the fulfilment of the domestic tourism products across India such as hoteliers, ground operators of various states, transport suppliers, individuals and companies from the artisan industry and local bodies. Domestic and regional tourism is the key indicator for inclusive economic development and job creation,” said Kundu.

“I shall be working closely with the stake holders of various agencies, media & press to help build demand creation for domestic tourism under the scheme Dekho Apna Desh,” Kundu added.

Today's Traveller | Feb 10, 2021

Naveen Kundu appointed Co-Chairman of FICCI Domestic Tourism committee

FICCI domestic tourism Committee is working as a sub-committee under the aegis of FICCI Tourism Committee to address the various issues and roadblocks in terms of domestic travel and technology which act as a hindrance for sustaining the rapid growth of this sector.

In his new role, Naveen Kundu will be involved with various government agencies and tourism committees to strengthen the footprints of domestic tourism in India.

“My vision has always been to enhance the domestic tourism demand of what is called untouched India, build a core team at FICCI which can help promote & push the fulfilment of the domestic tourism products across India such as hoteliers, ground operators of various states, transport suppliers, individuals, and companies from the artisan industry and local bodies. Domestic and Regional tourism is the key indicator for inclusive economic development & job creation,” said Naveen Kundu on the occasion of his appointment.

“I shall be working closely with the stakeholders of various agencies, media and press to help build demand creation for domestic tourism under the scheme Dekho Apna Desh,” Naveen Kundu further added.

The Times of India | Feb 04, 2021

States start road shows to boost domestic tourism

Orissa Diary | Jan 23, 2021

Right time for government and the private sector to take Ayurveda globally: Additional DG, Ministry of Tourism

Ms Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India yesterday said, “This is the right time and opportunity for the government and the private stakeholders to jointly take India’s story in Ayurveda to the world. The Ministry of Tourism is creating new promotional material that talks of body, mind and soul where Ayurveda is an integral aspect as an ancient scientific wisdom for holistic healing and rejuvenation. We need to work on creating the right strategic content and market in the right source markets.”

Addressing the virtual session ‘Future of Ayurveda Tourism', organized by FICCI, Ms Brar said, “The Ministry of Tourism is engaging with the state governments to ease the movement of tourists across states. Discussions with the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs are being organized on the protocols and guidelines for opening up tourism to international tourists,” Ms Brar added.

Dr Manoj Nesari, Adviser (Ayurveda), Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, said, “The Ministry of AYUSH is focusing on both the products and services for healing & wellness of Ayurveda. Ayurveda products and its services were recognized as essential services so that the industry was allowed to operate even during the lockdown. It was during COVID-19 that Ayurveda has been recognized as a serious medicine that can treat COVID-19 patients for a faster recovery. During the health crisis, the Ministry promoted Ayurveda for boosting immunity not just in the domestic market but globally as well. The advisory and research made by the Ministry of AYUSH, were translated in eight foreign languages.”

He further said, “The Ministry is coming up with a new scheme called Medical Value Tourism to promote the private sector to establish new greenfield hospitals so that there is a robust infrastructure in other parts of India as well as the eastern region which will be accredited by NABH or other any accreditation agencies to ensure the quality of services and infrastructure provided in the hospitals.”

Dr Jyotsna Suri, Past President – FICCI, Chairperson – FICCI Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Committee and CMD, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, said, “Ever since the onset of the pandemic, the FICCI Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Committee has been focusing on the survival and revival strategies for the Industry. The Committee has formed seven new sub-committees including Ayurveda Tourism to focus on the promotion of different verticals within the Tourism industry.”

She further said, “There is a new generation in the domestic market that has now understood the value of Ayurveda and its healing benefits. The wellness aspect has taken a precedence for the tourists and there is an immense opportunity for the growth of Ayurveda Tourism.”

Mr Sajeev Kurup, Chairman, FICCI Ayurveda Tourism Sub-Committee and Managing Director, Ayurveda Mana Hospitals, said, “To boost Ayurveda Tourism in the domestic market, the interstate movement rules of tourists should be rationalized without any quarantine controls and COVID-19 test certificate conditions. However, the states can formulate the COVID-19 protocols. For the international market, the Indian overseas embassies can start issuing tourist and medical visas or start online visas on arrival to international guests.”

“The Ministry of AYUSH is requested that the present NABH accreditation for Ayurveda Hospitals, the guidelines for large medium and small Hospitals to be changed based on the number of rooms. Almost 75% of Ayurveda Hospitals and Resorts fall in the small category, the existing terms and conditions and the cost involved is high making them difficult to get NABH accreditation,” he added.

Mr Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, FICCI, said, “FICCI has been promoting Medical Value Travel for several years and recognizing the importance of Ayurveda in the global scenario we have initiated a strong focus for Ayurveda Tourism. FICCI has recommended the inclusion of Ayurveda Tourism under medical visas to Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of AYUSH.”

Mr Abhilash K Ramesh, Executive Director, Kairali Ayurvedic Group; Mr Manu Rishi Guptha, Chief Executive Officer, Niraamaya Wellness Retreats; Mr S. Swaminathan, Managing Director, Dravidian Trails; Ms Irina Gurjeva, Top Ayurveda Travel Company, Ukraine and Mr Shubham Agnihotri, CEO, LS Vishu Ltd., Taiwan also shared their perspective on the challenges and strategies to promote the growth of Ayurveda Tourism.

ET Travel World | Jan 22, 2021

FICCI advocates a new category of visa for Ayurveda & Wellness Tourism

FICCI has advocated a special category of Visa to promote Ayurveda and Wellness Tourism to tap the full potential of India as a healing and wellness destination in the post-Covid world. Speakers at a webinar organised by the Ayurveda Tourism Task Force under the Tourism Committee of the FICCI have highlighted the unique strength of Ayurveda, the Indian conventional medicine, in enhancing immunity in human body and demanded adequate policy measures to support the Ayurvedic Tourism into the country.

Kick-starting the discussion Sajeev Kurup, Chairman, FICCI Ayurveda Tourism Task Force and the MD, Ayurveda Mana Hospitals has asked for opening of Visa, if not general, but a Medical Value specific to Ayurveda, so that tourists who come regularly for Ayurvedic treatments can come for their annual treatments. He also asked the government to bring in rationalised protocols for interstate travel and quarantine norms so that travellers coming for treatments for long duration are not inconvenienced.

Kurup also urged the Ayush Ministry to make the NABH accreditation simpler and rationalised so as to enable the small and medium ayurvedic hospitals and wellness resorts can also get the accreditation. “70% of the industry is small and medium players. You cannot have similar accreditation norms for 500 bedded Allopathic hospital and a 20-bed Ayurvedic Hospital or Wellness retreat,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Manish Nesari, Advisor - Ayurveda, Ministry of Ayush said that Ayurveda has emerged as the true medicine and health segment in the global pandemic and data compiled by the Ayush Ministry has proved categorically the immunity enhancing and Covid19 curing properties of Indian conventional medicine.

The data has been translated into eight foreign languages to make it known to the world through the Indian missions abroad, he said. While modern medicine takes 20 to 25 days to cure Covid19, the Ayurvedic medicines took only 9 to 10 days to heal the Covid 19 positive patient, he said.

Nesari said that the Ayush Ministry has already signed bilateral agreements with 38 countries to promote Ayurveda and agreements with many multilateral groups like BIMSTEC, BRICS, SCO, G20, etc. are also being planned.

As far as NABH accreditation is concerned, Nesari said that the government understands the difficulties of the small and medium players and steps are being taken to liberalise the procedures.

Responding to the Visa issue, he said that the Ministry has taken up the issue of a special Ayush or Wellness Visa with the External Affairs Ministry, and directions have been gone from the nodal ministry to all the Missions abroad to be lenient to people applying for Medical and Wellness Visas.

Participating in the panel discussion, Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General - Tourism, Government of India has said that the endeavour is to creative a new communication strategy with a new narrative so that all aspects of India as a Spiritual, Wellness, Healing, Nature, etc. goes to the global market. He cautioned the stakeholders of the Ayurveda and Wellness industry to rise to the occasion to deliver experiences which are in line with the narrative.

Manu Rishi Guptha, CEO, Niraamaya Wellness Retreats suggested that the government should try to “disincentive” the outbound travel, or “incentivise” the domestic travel so that Indians start discovering the destinations within. That is the only way the current distress in the industry can be reversed. He said that the messaging should be loud and clear that Ayurveda retreats can also be part of the family and leisure travellers.

B Swaminathan, MD, Dravidian Trails; and Irina Gurjeva, Top Ayurveda Travel Company, Ukraine, and Abhilash K Ramesh, Executive Director, Kairali Ayurvedic Group also spoke on the topic.

Hospitality World News | Jan 22, 2021

Visa to promote Ayurveda and Wellness tourism needed: FICCI

In support of ayurveda and wellness tourism, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) advocated for a visa category specifically to promote the sector and tap the potential that the country’s wellness industry has internationally in the post-Covid environment.

This was one of the main points of discussion which cropped up at a webinar which had been organised by the Ayurveda Tourism Task Force under the Tourism Committee of FICCI which highlighted the unique strength of Ayurveda, in enhancing immunity in human body and demanded policy measures to support ayurvedic tourism into the country.

Sajeev Kurup, Chairman, FICCI Ayurveda Tourism Task Force and the MD, Ayurveda Mana Hospitals began proceedings by asking for a visa specific to Ayurveda, so that tourists who come regularly for ayurvedic treatments could avail of it. He also asked the government to bring in a rationalised protocol for interstate travel and quarantine norms so that travellers coming for treatments for longer durations were not inconvenienced.

Kurup urged the Ayush Ministry to make the NABH accreditation simpler and rational so as to enable small and medium ayurvedic hospitals and wellness resorts can also get the accreditation.

“70 percent of the industry is small and medium players. You cannot have similar accreditation norms for 500 bedded allopathic hospital and a 20-bed ayurvedic hospital or wellness retreat,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Manish Nesari, Advisor – Ayurveda, Ministry of Ayush said that Ayurveda had emerged as the true medicine and health segment in the global pandemic and data compiled by the Ayush Ministry has proved categorically the immunity enhancing and Covid19 curing properties of Indian conventional medicine.

As far as NABH accreditation was concerned, Nesari said that the government understood the difficulties of small and medium players and steps were being taken to liberalise the procedures.

Responding to the Visa issue, he said that the Ministry has taken up the issue of a special Ayush or Wellness Visa with the External Affairs Ministry, and directions have been gone from the nodal ministry to all the Missions abroad to be lenient to people applying for Medical and Wellness Visas.

Participating in the panel discussion, Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General – Tourism, Government of India has said that the endeavour was to creative a new communication strategy with a new narrative so that all aspects of India as a Spiritual, Wellness, Healing, Nature, etc. goes to the global market.

Manu Rishi Guptha, CEO, Niraamaya Wellness Retreats suggested that the government should try to ‘disincentive’ outbound travel, or ‘incentivise’ domestic travel so that Indians start discovering destinations within the country. That was the only way the current distress in the industry could be reversed. He said that the messaging should be loud and clear that Ayurveda retreats could also be ideal for family and leisure travellers.

Travel Weekly | Jan 22, 2021

Ayurveda Tourism: The right time for healing is now

The Government of India is pushing for Ayurveda Tourism which focuses on healing and wellness as the absolute right time to be promoted considering the global health issues due to COVID-19. The wellness aspect has taken a precedence for tourists, and there is an immense opportunity for the growth of Ayurveda Tourism.

The Additional Director General of the Ministry of Tourism in the Government of India, Ms. Rupinder Brar, said yesterday: “This is the right time and opportunity for the government and the private stakeholders to jointly take India’s story in Ayurveda to the world. The Ministry of Tourism is creating new promotional material that talks of body, mind, and soul where Ayurveda is an integral aspect as an ancient scientific wisdom for holistic healing and rejuvenation. We need to work on creating the right strategic content and market in the right source markets.”

Addressing the virtual session, “Future of Ayurveda Tourism,” organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Ms. Brar said: “The Ministry of Tourism is engaging with the state governments to ease the movement of tourists across states. Discussions with the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs are being organized on the protocols and guidelines for opening up tourism to international tourists.”

Dr. Manoj Nesari, Adviser (Ayurveda), Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, said: “The Ministry of AYUSH is focusing on both the products and services for healing and wellness of Ayurveda. Ayurveda products and its services were recognized as essential services so that the industry was allowed to operate even during the lockdown. It was during COVID-19 that Ayurveda has been recognized as a serious medicine that can treat COVID-19 patients for a faster recovery. During the health crisis, the Ministry promoted Ayurveda for boosting immunity not just in the domestic market but globally as well. The advisory and research made by the Ministry of AYUSH were translated in eight foreign languages.”

He further said: “The Ministry is coming up with a new scheme called Medical Value Tourism to promote the private sector to establish new greenfield hospitals so that there is a robust infrastructure in other parts of India as well as the eastern region which will be accredited by NABH or other any accreditation agencies to ensure the quality of services and infrastructure provided in the hospitals.”

Dr. Jyotsna Suri, Past President of FICCI and Chairperson of FICCI Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Committee and CMD, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, said: “Ever since the onset of the pandemic, the FICCI Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Committee has been focusing on the survival and revival strategies for the industry. The committee has formed seven new sub-committees including Ayurveda Tourism to focus on the promotion of different verticals within the tourism industry.”

She further said: “There is a new generation in the domestic market that has now understood the value of Ayurveda and its healing benefits. The wellness aspect has taken a precedence for the tourists and there is an immense opportunity for the growth of Ayurveda Tourism.”

Mr. Sajeev Kurup, Chairman, FICCI Ayurveda Tourism Sub-Committee and Managing Director, Ayurveda Mana Hospitals, said: “To boost Ayurveda Tourism in the domestic market, the interstate movement rules of tourists should be rationalized without any quarantine controls and COVID-19 test certificate conditions. However, the states can formulate the COVID-19 protocols. For the international market, the Indian overseas embassies can start issuing tourist and medical visas or start online visas on arrival to international guests.”

“The Ministry of AYUSH is requested that the present NABH accreditation for Ayurveda Hospitals, the guidelines for large medium and small hospitals to be changed based on the number of rooms. Almost 75% of Ayurveda hospitals and resorts fall in the small category; the existing terms and conditions and the cost involved is high, making them difficult to get NABH accreditation.”

Mr. Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, FICCI, said: “FICCI has been promoting Medical Value Travel for several years, and recognizing the importance of Ayurveda in the global scenario we have initiated a strong focus for Ayurveda Tourism. FICCI has recommended the inclusion of Ayurveda Tourism under medical visas to [the] Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of AYUSH.”

Mr. Abhilash K Ramesh, Executive Director, Kairali Ayurvedic Group; Mr. Manu Rishi Guptha, Chief Executive Officer, Niraamaya Wellness Retreats; Mr. S. Swaminathan, Managing Director, Dravidian Trails; Ms. Irina Gurjeva, Top Ayurveda Travel Company, Ukraine; and Mr. Shubham Agnihotri, CEO, LS Vishu Ltd., Taiwan also shared their perspective on the challenges and strategies to promote the growth of Ayurveda Tourism.

eTurbo News | Jan 22, 2021