Hotels taken out of real estate exposure to facilitate loans from banks at lower rate of interest; issue was taken up with the RBI by Ministry of Tourism
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15 sept 2009 16:36 IST
On the request of the Ministry of Tourism and recognizing that Tourism is one of the world’s largest industry, which plays a prominent role in economic growth of the country the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has notified that hotels be taken out of the Real Estate Exposure for Banks to those entrepreneurs who themselves run these ventures. This new relaxation/incentive would enable hotels to avail larger credits at better interest rates, which would help to lower the overall cost of such hotel projects. Secretary, Ministry of Tourism had actively taken up with the Ministry of Finance/Reserve Bank of India earlier this year, to accord infrastructure status to hotel projects, and provide fiscal amenities for creation of additional hotel room capacity to meet the surge in demand in the tourism sector.

The hotel segment of the tourism industry, is highly capital intensive in nature and has a long gestation period. India is facing shortage of good quality accommodation for both the international as well as domestic tourists. The demand for rooms will grow in the years to come.

Earlier, on the request of Ministry of Tourism, External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) was permitted to the hotel industry so that hotels could avail of ECB upto US$ 100 million for financial year and with the recent announcement of RBI, hotels have been de-linked from Commercial Real Estate which will now enable the hotels to seek capital loans from banks and ease out the liquidity issues particularly to the new hotel projects.

India to promote domestic tourism with roadshows, campaigns

New Delhi, Sep 12 (IANS) India is planning to aggressively promote domestic tourism with a series of roadshows and campaigns, with special focus on the northeastern region.
Apart from launching an “Incredible India” campaign to target domestic tourists, the tourism ministry will also organise various roadshows in collaboration with the private sector, according to a statement issued here to list the achievements of the ministry in the last 100 days.

There were about 526.56 million domestic tourists in 2007 as compared to an estimated 562.92 million last year, according to the ministry.

India received an estimated 5.37 million foreign tourists last year. The number is far lower than a small country like Singapore, which received an estimated 10.1 million tourists in 2008.

Highlighting its achievements, the ministry said it had come out with guidelines to promote niche tourism like caravan and heliport tourism to provide an “exciting” new face to the industry that has suffered from the effects of the global recession.

Tourism Minister Kumari Selja announced the guidelines that includes financial packages for states that intend to develop such projects.

While caravan tourism involves the use of a specially equipped vehicle deployed on a tourist circuit, helipad tourism is aimed at promoting tourism in hilly and remote areas by making helipads at select destinations.

The concept of caravan tourism will be popularised and promoted by developing caravan parks. This will be done through the public private partnership route.

The ministry will approve these parks only after states provide facilities like parking bays, tourist amenities centre, toilets and adequate safety measures.

According to the guidelines, the caravan parks will have electricity, water and sewage disposal facilities for the caravans which are parked.

Also, these parks should take environment friendly steps.

For this, the ministry will provide central assistance of up to Rs.5 crore per destination to state governments.

The ministry added that it would extend financial assistance of up to Rs.75 lakh to state governments for construction of heliports.

The guidelines specify that the projects for construction of heliports will have to conform to the technical requirements laid down by the Director General of Civil Aviation.

Already, the ministry has approved two projects in Sikkim - Mangan and Geetang Khola.

Apart from providing central financial assistance for the heliport, the government will also give aid for developing the area as a tourist hub.

For development of Mangan Tourist Axis in north Sikkim, the tourism ministry will provide Rs.3.03 crore and for Geetang Khola waterfall in West Sikkim Rs.3.02 crore will be sanctioned, officials said.

As India is known for its wellness tourism, especially because of its traditional systems of medicine — ayurveda, yoga, Unani and Siddha — the ministry plans to promote this key area too.

For this, it has revised its earlier guidelines of marketing development assistance (MDA).

Under this scheme, the wellness centres accredited by states, and travel agents and tour operators will be qualified for financial assistance to participate in wellness tourism fairs abroad.

Sphere: Related Content

3 Lakes of Sikkim proposed for Ramsar

GANGTOK, September 11: Three revered fresh water lakes out of 227 wetlands in Sikkim will be proposed by the State government for inclusion in the international Ramsar Convention of Wetlands during an upcoming workshop at Manali, Himachal Pradesh.
The three day workshop on Ramsar Convention is slated to commence from September 14 and the Sikkim government will be participating in the important meet.
The Centre had indicated inclusion of some wetlands of Sikkim into the Ramsar site during the workshop, said C Lachungpa, CCF, State forest department.
The State forest department will be proposing the inclusion of Tsomgo, Guru Dongmar and Khecheopalri wetland complexes into the international heritage site.
Mr. Lachunpga explained that Guru Dongmar is a famous religious spot and is one of the sacred lakes of Sikkim located at 17100 feet in the cold desert region of North Sikkim. It is also one of the main halting points for the migratory birds besides being a popular tourism spot.
The second fresh water lake to be proposed for inclusion in the Ramsar site of wetlands is Khecheopalri lake of West Sikkim.
The assets of this ‘wish fulfilling’ lake are that it is uniquely located in a temperate forest area and is known to be very old lake besides being a famous tourist attraction.
The third lake being considered to be proposed by the State forest department for inclusion in the Ramsar site of wetlands is Tsomgo lake, the bread and butter of tourism operators of East Sikkim.
Located at an altitude of 13000 ft, Tsomgo lake is a halting point for migratory birds and is being considered by the State government as an alternative source for drinking water source to Gangtok.
Explaining the significance of Tsomgo lake, Mr. Lachungpa said that unlike wetlands of West and North districts, most of the lakes in East Sikkim are seasonally snow fed. The duration of snow has been now reduced to hardly two months in a year and there are no permanent snow mountains or glaciers to sustain the lakes of East Sikkim unlike wetlands of West and North districts which are snow fed or are glacial lakes, he said underlining the need to retain the water sources of East Sikkim.
The above three lakes being projected for inclusion in the exclusive list of lakes of international importance are already identified as wetlands under National Wetland Conservation Programme of Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF).
The annual report of MoEF for the year 2008-09 lists the wetlands of Khecheopalri lake, Tamze, Tembao, Phedang, Guru Dongmar and Tsogmo as being included in the list of 115 wetlands of the country in the National Wetland Conservation Programme.
The national progamme is a scheme on conservation and management of wetlands was initiated in 1987 with the primary objective to undertake priority wetlands for intensive conservation measures and to prepare an inventory of Indian wetland.
Sikkim has around 227 wetlands spread over North, East and West districts. These wetlands play a vital role as water resources of Sikkim in terms of drinking water, hydro electric projects, environment and eco-system.
Most of these wetlands are either glacial fed, snow fed and some are ground water fed, said the CCF. He pointed out that due to various factor like degradation of environment, developmental activities in fragile alpine landscape and impact of global warming, some of the wetlands have been affected like reduction of water volume and shrinkage of their sizes.
Mr. Lachungpa further highlighted the example of Tsogmo lake to supplement his observations.
As per the 1963 Survey of India toposheet, the area of Tsogmo lake was 22 hectares. “But the assessment report of State Pollution Control Board of 1997, the lake size is around 18 hectares. So over 32 years, there has been a reduction of 4 hectares in the lake size”, said Mr. Lachungpa.
Considering all the above phenomenal characteristics of wetlands, the forest department had invited experts from wetland division of the MoEF 2006 and carried out certain sample studies of selected wetlands in the North, East and West districts, said Mr. Lachungpa. Accordingly, State level screening committee was constituted in 2007 to oversee and review the change of wetland ecosystem, he said.
After the joint survey of State forest department and MoEF, about 114 wetlands were assessed and a wetland index of Sikkim was prepared.
Out of the index, six above mentioned wetlands were considered for wetland conservation and management under National Wetland Conservation Programme.
But due to the small size of the wetlands, the State did not immediately qualified for the inclusion in the programme, it is informed.
To overcome this issue, the State forest department identified a number of lakes as a complex of wetlands and conservation measures such as catchment area treatment, awareness and sensitizing of local people, survey of flora and fauna of the wetland area and desiltation works have been proposed for the six identified wetland complexes.
Following this the Centre has provided funds for 3 wetlands in 2007-08 (Guru Dongmar, Tsomgo and Phendang) and in 2008-09, Khechupuri lake was included in the national programme. The two remaining wetlands are being considered in the coming year, it is informed.
Works like catchment area treatment, desiltation, awareness and sensitization of local people have been done as per the national wetland conservation programme for the fresh water lakes of Sikkim, said Mr. Lachungpa. We have constituted Tsogmo Pokerhi Sangraksan Samiti and a similar body for Khecopalri lake is being considered, he said.
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SINGAPORE DRAWS PLAN FOR A NEW SIKKIM

GANGTOK:6.aug 2009

The Singapore based Subarna International Consultancy Pte Ltd has projected tourism footfalls of at least 8 lakhs annually in Sikkim by 2015 making the Himalayan State as a major tourism attraction.

Out of these 8 lakhs tourists projected, the consultancy firm has put the numbers of international tourists to around thirty four thousands.

East Sikkim being the gateway to major tourism hotspots will be attracting more than 5 lakhs tourists annually by 2015, said the consultancy firm representatives while presenting the ‘developmental guide plans of Gangtok, Namchi, Geyzing and Mangan’, the district headquarters of the four districts of Sikkim.

The presentation for the stakeholders was made here today at Chintan Bhavan, Gangtok which was attended by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, Speaker KT Gyalsten, cabinet minister, MLAs and a host of senior civil authorities.

The firm had been engaged by the State government to prepare a master plan for development of the urban centres of the State. The firm has also been engaged to separately prepare a master plan for developing Sikkim as a major tourism destination in the world.

Presenting the tourism component of the urban renewal plan, the representatives said that while the figures of tourists coming to Sikkim will reach around 8 lakhs annually by 2015, there is a requirement of an additional 8753 rooms to cater to the visiting tourists.

The tourism component has been prepared for Gangtok (East Sikkim), Namchi (South Sikkim), Mangan (North Sikkim) and Geyzing (West Sikkim).

The tourism traffic in East Sikkim will remain high and as per the urban master plan for Gangtok, there is an urgent need to have larger and better managed hotels and to curb unlicensed hotels. There is also a lack of quality eateries in Gangtok, the study noted.

The consultancy firm has also called for developing religious, eco-tourism and natural attractions, reviving the handicrafts and handlooms products and decentralization of permit system to decongest Gangtok.
The firm has proposed setting up a cultural and nature zone in southern and northern areas of Gangtok. The cultural zone in southern Gangtok should be ready by 2015 with a museum, performing arts centre, exhibition and convention centre, the firm suggested.

It has also recommended demarcating the northern zone of Gangtok as a nature zone by upgrading the Himalayan Zoological Park and setting up spas.

The company also forecasted two more casinos in Gangtok. All these aspects will be highlighted in the Tourism Master Plan report for Sikkim later this year, the consultancy firm said.

Regarding Namchi, the firm said that the South district is strong on religious and cultural activities. The limitations of tourism facilities in South should be upgraded, the firm suggested.

The firm also highlighted the need for more tourism facilities and infrastructures in North and West districts.

SIKKIM: CAG REPORTS – TOURISM DEPARTMENT PART-I Highlights
Posted by barunroy on August 2, 2009

FROM SIKKIM EXPRESS

• The State Tourism policy was not framed on the lines of the National Tourism policy and the benefit of planned development, as reflected in the National Tourism policy was not derived.

• Leasing out of assets was characterised by a conspicuous absence of any modality. Neither wide publicity was given nor revenue sharing’ model explored, leading to the assets located at prominent tourist destinations earning a meager return of less than 0.5 per cent on the cost employed.

• Due to the absence of a comprehensive plan for development of innovative tourism in the State, coupled with the absence of a well laid down marketing strategy, full potential of various types of tourism i.e. eco-tourism, adventure-tourism, health-tourism, etc. was not harnessed.

The Union Ministry of Tourism (2002) formulated the National Tourism Policy – 2002 with the objective of positioning tourism as a major engine of economic growth. The Policy envisaged provision of a legislative framework to regulate tourism related trade and industry, ensure safety and security of the tourists and create basic infrastructure and health care facilities for harnessing the full tourism potential in the State.

- The State Government failed to provide a legislative framework to tourism related activities, as a State specific Tourism Policy was not formulated in li.ne with the National Tourism policy. The Department informed (September 2008) that the State Tourism Policy is under preparation and would be completed by 2009-10.
- Safety and of the tourists was also not accorded due priority as evidenced from the fact that (i) Tourist Police were not appointed to help the tourists for hassle free trips to various tourist destinations; (ii) separate mobile unit (including ambulances) with sufficient staff to attend the tourists during emergency was not deployed despite eleven cases of accidents involving death of 22 tourists during 2003-08; and (iii) adequate safety measures were not adopted by way of formation of State Level Committees for safety and rescue of tourists by the State Government, especially for adventure sports.

- The State Government failed to enact the Trade Rules and also failed to create adequate tourist infrastructure.

Master Plan

The Master Plan for tourism development in Sikkim, approved (February 1998) with a perspective of 15 years (1997-2011) recommended a district-wise tourism development strategy as shown below:

Districts

East (i) Upgradation of attractions;

(ii) Imposing entry charges for all attractions;

(iii) Upgrading hotels through incentives and regulations;

(iv) Improvement in transport and other infrastructure;

(v) Improvement in the skills of the people engaged in tourism industry,

(vi) Use of taxes collected from hotels, restaurants and the transport sector for promotion of Sikkim.

West (i) Master plan of Pelling including land zoning for residential, market and evening activity;

(ii) Motivating establishment of hotels;

(iii) Improvement in transport services;

(iv) Improvement in attractions supported by appropriate marketing.

North (i) Setting up minimum permanent structures in North Sikkim to protect environment;

(ii) Physical planning of Lachung, Chunthang and Lachen areas and development of campsites in line with environment guidelines.

South (i) Developing South District as a halting point for tourists.

Audit scrutiny, however, revealed that the Department did not frame a district¬ wise tourism development strategy. The annual plans submitted to Planning & Development Department for availing plan funds, were not dovetailed with the strategy recommended in the Master Plan for various districts. As a result, while the expenditure and effort invested towards preparation of Master Plan failed to yield the desired result, the activities envisaged in the Master Plan were yet to be achieved, as evidenced from the following:

- In respect of East District, upgradation of attractions consisting of tourist circuit development, tourist destinations, Buddhist circuits, tourist pilgrimage centers, wayside amenities, trekking routes etc. was not undertaken by the Department. Developmental programmes such as identifying circuits for places of special interest and sightseeing were taken up by the Department but without carrying out any survey for proper identification of such tourist places with potential for increased tourist inflow, availability of transport, communication and accommodation facilities, etc.

- In the West District, developmental works such as land zoning for residential, market and evening activities, restoration of Rabdentse palace, ropeway from Rabdentse palace to Pemayangtse monastery etc. were not undertaken.

- In South District, development of tourist shopping area and Science Museum at Namchi, river rafting base etc. were not carried out.

- Selection of infrastructure development projects, viz; tourist circuits, pilgrim centres, wayside amenities and trekking routes etc. was based on public demand, followed by the recommendations of the MLAs/Ministers overlooking the Master Plan, rather than survey and analysis of the actual need. As a result, while infrastructure worth Rs. 56.17 crore remained idle as brought out in paragraph 3.2.9.3, adequate infrastructure for quality accommodation for -.Jurists in prime locations such as South (Ravangla and Namchi) and West districts could not be created.

- The Master Plan was not reviewed during the last 11 years to bring it in tandem with the National Tourism Policy 2002 and the Perspective Plan (November 2002) for Sikkim, for effective implementation and convergence. In fact, the Master Plan was not sent to the other line departments to elicit their views, suggestions for improvement and for achievement of targeted goals/objectives in a coordinated manner. This was all the more important in view of the rapid growth achieved by the tourism sector at national and international levels. The Department stated (September 2008) that the actual achievement of Sikkim Tourism was higher than what was documented in the Master Plan on its socio¬economic objectives, employment generation and marketing of tourism products and that, there was also a need for review of Master Plan. While the Department’s view that there was a need for review of Master Plan is welcome, their contention that the actual achievement was higher than what was documented in the Master Plan is not tenable as neither the developmental works were undertaken according to the Master Plan nor was Master Plan ever referred to. Besides, the Department could also not substantiate its contention with documentary evidence or any baseline data regarding employment generation.

(To be continued)

SIKKIM REPRESENTS IN WORLD TOURISM MEET

Sikkim represents India in World Ecotourism Conference in Vientiane


Sikkim represents India in World Ecotourism Conference in Vientiane

GANGTOK, July 23: Two Sikkim tourism officials represented India in the World Ecotourism Conference (WEC 2009), which was held at Vientiane, Capital of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic from July 15 to 17.
Chairman, Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation NK Subba and Chief Executive Officer of Ecotourism & Conservation Society of Sikkim RP Gurung attended the programme on the invitation from H.E. Somphong Mongkhonvilay, Minister Chairman Lao National Tourism Administration.
A press release adds that WEC 2009 hosted by the Lao National Tourism Authority with the support of United Nations World Trade Organisation (UNWTO), regional National Tourism Organisations and key ecotourism players aimed to provide a stage for trade and technical exchanges between the governments, academia, NGOs and tourism trade pertaining to best practices and technologies for advancement of the ecotourism sector through macro and micro management of nature conservation, environment protection, preservation of ethnic communities and sustainable and responsible tourism.
The challenges of the current global economic downturn that had seriously affected the tourism industry and the unavoidable impacts of climate change were defining issues in designing the conference, the release said.
Surprisingly, Sikkim was the only State to represent Sikkim. The Conference also allowed showcasing of Sikkim’s ecotourism products and tourism potential to the participants of the conference. Most delegates evinced keen interest in Sikkim due to its exotic and mysterious appeal and many were eager to visit the place, the release further said.
While stating that most were uninformed or ill informed about the State, the release said much could be done to market Sikkim and North East India to the ASEAN region. “There is great similarity in natural, religious and cultural backgrounds between the two regions. As far as tourism development was concerned, the most noticeable difference in the ASEAN countries and in particular in Laos was the extent of private and foreign participation in ecotourism ventures and activities supported by a very strong Government policy and funding by UN and other international agencies,” the release read.
In the meanwhile, Chairman, STDC NK Subba along with Mr. Gurung called on the Minister of State for Tourism, Sultan Ahmed and apprised him of the tourism and ecotourism development initiatives in Sikkim and the issues and problems being faced. They presented Tourism brochures on Sikkim prepared by the Corporation and the NGO to Mr. Ahmed and also had these distributed through the India stall at the Green Exhibition. The Minister assured all help in processing viable tourism projects submitted to his Ministry from Sikkim.
Earlier, the conference was inaugurated by the Laotian Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh, who in his opening speech acclaimed his country as the “Jewel of the Mekong River” by offering World Heritage Sites as well as other amazing natural and cultural tourism attractions.
Acting Deputy Secretary -General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Dr. Eugenio Yunis in his keynote address emphasized the growing awareness and importance of ecotourism since the International Year of Ecotourism in 2002 that led to the Ecotourism Summit and the Quebec declaration that year. He highlighted the role of Ecotourism as an effective and sustainable way of tackling poverty and stressed on the need for regulatory mechanisms and co-operation amongst various stakeholders and countries. He also pointed out the symbiotic relationship between ecotourism and biodiversity conservation – especially in the light of 2010 being declared the International Year of Biodiversity. He expressed satisfaction that Ecotourism was no longer a vague concept or a niche tourism sector but an effective means to reconcile nature conservation with tourism and socio-economic development.
However, he cautioned that the challenges ahead were many and included the need to apply ecotourism principles and guidelines to mainstream tourism, to monitor sustainability in all tourism activities and to ensure that ecotourism benefits not only nature conservation but above all the poor people living in areas where ecotourism is practiced.
Professor Dr. Trevor Sofield Foundation Professor and Chair Tourism Programme and Chair University of Tasmania, former Team Leader Mekong Tourism Development Project and a leading international tourism expert, in his keynote address, spoke on “New Paradigms and Resilience for Responsible and Sustainable Tourism in Developing Countries” He presented some very interesting and new thinking on the way tourism needed be viewed in the light of the current global financial calamity, rising food and oil prices, climate shocks, flu pandemic, and others. He said that every place that is affected by these global challenges is likely to be so in quite a different way and in a manner with which existing tourism development models are unable to cope with. This situation called for a rapid re-evaluation of the way in which tourism analysis is conducted and in the way we should all perceive tourism. In building up resilience to these challenges he advocated a systems approach using supply chain and value chain analysis, and the need to understand that the tourism was not just an economic activity but a social-ecological system that is place/site specific. He challenged many of the existing approaches and concepts in tourism assessment and planning, including the present principles on which the UNESCO World Heritage sites are listed – which he felt was biased towards the West.
The conference was also addressed by the Minister of State for Tourism, Government of India, Sultan Ahmed who informed the gathering about the high potential growth for tourism in India in the light of its relatively small share of .58% (2008 tourist arrival figures) in the international tourism market. While efforts were on to showcase India’s products through campaigns like “Incredible India”, the Minister emphasized that growth was being achieved only by adopting sustainable practices and methods with the involvement of local communities. In particular he showcased the Rural Tourism Project of the Government of India and how it would bring benefits to the almost 74% population of the country residing in its 7 million villages. To date 132 rural tourism sites had been developed out of which 12 are solely promoting ecotourism.
The conference held at the Five Star Don Chan Place Hotel Grand Ballroom and Convention Centre was attended to by over 300 delegates, representing many government agencies, national and international organizations, tour companies and the media from all over the world with the majority being from ASEAN countries.
The opening day ceremonies included the inauguration of a Green Tourism exhibition that showcased “Green products” from private and public agencies around the region. The conference was divided into four sessions namely – Sustainable Tourism Roadmaps, Market Development and Resilience, Local Community Challenges and Solutions and Public & Private Sector Partnerships, followed by technical workshops and a special session on Developing and Marketing of the Greater Mekong Sub-Region. Leading Tourism officials, academics, NGO and industry representatives participated in the presentations and discussions and provided interesting information, views and case studies on the topics. Although many of the case studies were outright marketing pitches of the different countries, it was interesting to observe how much thinking had gone into capturing the essence of their attractions as in the catchy slogans of “Malaysia Truly Asia” or “Amazing Thailand” or “Laos, Simply Beautiful” and of course “Incredible India”. On the final day, a summary of the proceedings and the key outcomes were presented and consensus obtained for the formulation of a Vientiane Declaration. This declaration will be the newest in a series of global pledges that postulate sustainable tourism development to alleviate poverty and conserve environmental resources. The final day also saw the holding of the inception meeting of the Asia Pacific Ecotourism Society (APES) with an objective to create a collaborative and resilient platform of Asia Pacific industry players in sustainable tourism.
The Sikkimese delegates representing India were included in the list of founding members. In addition to the very technical presentations and panel discussions, the conference partners of DiscoveryMice, Malaysia, and Lao National Tourism Administration (LNTA) organised for the delegates a complimentary Vientiane City Tour, including a visit to Wat Sisaket, Ho Phra Keo and That Luang. Another option was to join an educational one-day tour to the National Protected Area of Phou Khao Khouay, which is located just over an hour away from Vientiane.

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