India Tourism Conclave ( 15th JANUARY, 2021)

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) organised the 2^nd edition “India Tourism Conclave” on 15th January 2021, at Hotel Parkview, Chandigarh to bring together some of best minds in the tourism sector, hospitality, start-ups, along with some of the best names from the corporate world. The event was inaugurated by Sh. Prahlad Singh Patel, Hon’ble Minister (state) of Culture and Tourism and the inaugural session was addressed by Dr. Subhash Sharma, Director, CEPR; Sh. Satish Kumar, Akhil Bhartiya Seh Sangathak, Swadeshi Jagran Manch; Sh. Sanjay Tandon, Former State President, BJP, Chandigarh; National Executive Member, BJP, Seh Prabhari, Himachal Pradesh

This conclave was attended by 15 panellists, 80+ delegates physically and 1000+ virtually (on Zoom Platform). The event engaged the key industry professionals, state tourism ministries, policymakers, government institutions playing key roles in tourism, global institutional players, academicians, thought leaders, grass-root level service providers including NGOs who are transforming the landscape of Indian Tourism industry for a “call for action“. During the conclave, the focus was on determining key enablers, gaps emerged due to COVID, challenges and real priorities for economic growth and business acceleration through tourism, hospitality, aviation, transportation and tourism infrastructure development. Through meticulous deliberations, the panels tried to bridge the gap by providing leadership for an innovation framework. The panels bridged the gap by providing leadership for an innovation framework. A “Guidebook for Indian Tourism Policy” that will be realistic with finite timelines will be the culmination of ideas.

The key topics were:

1. Stimulating domestic travel through thought leadership and progressive policies including recent developments and innovations that are yet to deliver results;
2. Boost the frequency of travel through tourism industry product portfolio mix; improved connectivity, and investment in tourism infrastructure;
3. Enhance the brand equity of offbeat destinations and experiences among travellers;
4. Unlocking the economic value of India’s Meetings, Incentives Conferences and Exhibitions/Event (MICE), business events and destination wedding sector;
5. Mobilise the private sector for investment in tourism- identifying the enablers, trends and risks;
6. Insights that can be drawn from the best practice in leveraging heritage, religion, natural landscapes, wildlife and biodiversity as strategic tourism assets;
7. Entrepreneurship (MSME) and Women Empowerment for driving the performance of key industry segments such as offbeats, experiential travel, adventure and in mainstream sustainability initiatives
8. Developing sustainable Standard Operating Procedures for tourism industry during emergencies with a roadmap to overcome the gaps that arise due to such pandemics and other crisis in the future.

The conclave concluded with the Valedictory note of Sh. Jai Ram Thakur, Chief Minister, Himachal Pradesh, making efforts to develop special tourist places to wean away tourists from popular places like Manali, Shimla, Kasauli etc. He said the state government had launched a new scheme “nayee raahein, nayee manzilien, to woo the tourists in the post-COVID period. He also commended the efforts of Centre for Economic Policy Research for providing a neutral platform for conducive discussions amongst stakeholders annually.