To promote India as a tourism destination in a big way, especially in the areas of medical and wellness, the government on Sunday announced the constitution of a Medical and Wellness Tourism Promotion Board with an initial corpus of ₹2 crore.
Releasing the Tourism Vision Document 2030 here on Sunday, Mahesh Sharma, Union Minister of State for Tourism, Culture (Independent Charge) and Civil Aviation, said low-cost medical facilities are India’s strength and should be taken advantage of for promoting tourism.
“It is for this reason that the government took the important decision of setting up the Medical and Wellness Tourism Promotion Board,” he said, adding that AYUSH facilities will be promoted along with regular medical facilities.
The Board will be chaired by the Union Tourism Minister and consists of members representing related government departments, tourism and hospitality sector and experts in the medical, wellness and yoga, said Sharma, who is himself a medical doctor.
Releasing the Tourism Vision Document 2030 commissioned by the Experience India Society and prepared by KPMG, Sharma announced a series of initiatives on World Tourism Day, such as Discover India fares of Air India.
Air India package “Under the scheme, a tourist can buy five coupons for ₹32,500 (with 15-days validity) or 10 coupons for ₹60,000 (30-days validity) for exciting Indian destinations, serviced by Air India and Alliance Air without worrying about ticket price fluctuation,” an official statement said.
In another initiative, Air India will introduce Incredible Air India holiday packages from December 1, 2015. Sharma also opened a Centre of Excellence in Hospitality Education that will operate from Hotel Samrat in New Delhi.
Ministry Web site A bi-lingual Web site of the Tourism Ministry was also put in place containing information of activities and divisions of the Ministry, including the Web-based e-recognition system for recognition of travel trade service providers and approval and classification of hotels, among others.