Govt’s capital idea: Win over local & foreign tourism players in 1 stroke

 The three-day event is the first of its kind venture wherein the Government is trying to bring both domestic and international investors under one roof to promote the Tourism sector. The summit will also help the Central Government draft the country’s Tourism Policy, said officials. 

“This summit will showcase the investment opportunities in the tourism sector. Its main objective is to position the Indian Tourism sector for attracting large investments and presenting to the investors tangible investment-ready projects in the different States and Union Territories of India,” said Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism and Culture Mahesh Sharma. “The summit will provide a global platform for interaction with investors, policy makers and Indian industry leaders, and other stakeholders.”

Added Tourism Secretary Vinod Zutshi, “The whole idea is to position the Indian Tourism sector for attracting large investments. This summit will provide a global platform for interactions with investors, policy makers and other stakeholders.”

More than 27 Indian states and 140 investors from 70 companies will be participating in the Tourism Investors’ summit. However, the tourism ministry officials added that their target is to rope in 250 investors for the event.

“The summit is a platform for investors across the globe to explore investment opportunities available within the ambit of India’s tourism sector as well as core infrastructure. India being one of the fastest growing economies, the landscape of the tourism sector is sought to escalate India’s rich culture and heritage. The Tourism sector of India has brought about a new paradigm of growth and development in creating employment, generating income and fostering entrepreneurship,” said Tourism Minister Sharma.

According to Tourism ministry officials, already around 600 investable projects from across the country and from across various sectors of tourism have been zeroed in. Investment will be sought for these projects.  

“We want to showcase a bouquet of investment-ready projects from all the Indian states and private project owners, present opportunities for global investors to understand the investment ecosystem for garnering investments, catalyzing partnership in the form of B2B linkages and identifying opportunities for local players to move up the value chain through technical collaboration and global partnerships,” added Sharma.  

There will be 21 seminars during this event wherein Union ministers, chief ministers and industry leaders will take part. “the highlights of this summit will be State Presentations encompassing all investible Properties, Session on Why Invest in India, MSME in tourism sector, Panel discussions on core infrastructure for tourism, Session on Start-ups, Digital India, MICE and Niche Tourism Products,” said  Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism Suman Billa.

Experts maintain that a plethora of investment opportunities exist in the Indian Tourism sector, especially in infrastructure development areas. “The Government is making substantial efforts to develop quality tourism across the country. While state governments have framed their tourism policies, the Central Government has allowed 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route in tourism and hospitality,” observed CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee. “The current policies offer attractive investment potential in India’s Tourism sector.”

The summit will have dedicated space for seminars, business to business meetings and round tables around focus themes. The event is being pegged to see huge participation from major stakeholders including States/ UTs with their ready investible projects, banks and financial institutions, business developers, cruise liners, domestic investors, entertainment companies, global investors, helicopter services, hoteliers, infrastructure developers, international associations, restaurateurs, spa and Yoga 

centers, tour and travel operators, urban developers, venture capitalist and civic amenity providers.