The Union Minister for Tourism (IC), Shri. K.J. Alphons, presented the National Tourism Awards 2016-17) on the World Tourism Day, in New Delhi, yesterday. The Minister also launched the ‘Incredible India Mobile App’ and the “Incredible India Tourist Facilitators Certification” programme.

Speaking on the occasion, the Tourism Minister said that India has taken great strides forward in the field of tourism during the last four years of the Government and added that tourism, today, is the cornerstone of the Indian economy, as it is a major source of employment and foreign exchange, and in order to tap the full potential of this sector, industry has to join hands. Congratulating the awardees, Shri K. J. Alphons also shared the concern that the tourism sector needs to improve its hospitality services since it is the hospitality offered  which is the distinguishing feature of India and gives it an edge over other countries.   He also added that it is the responsibility of every citizen to build the image of the country as safe for anyone to travel.

The Minister also announced that, India will be the host country for official World Tourism Day celebrations for the UNWTO, in 2019. The theme for the World Tourism Day 2018 being “Tourism & Digital Transformation”, the Minister recounted the various digital initiatives taken by the Ministry in harnessing technology for tourism promotion, which include, launch of a new Incredible India website; 24 X7 Chat bot interface on this website; launch of a new website on Buddhism in India and many more initiatives..