India Tourism aims to optimize foreign investment potential
Dr. Mahesh Sharma addressing a press conference about the Incredible India Tourism Investors Summit 2016
While the ambit of the travel and tourism industry in India is looking prospective, the government is looking at attracting national and international investments to explore new opportunities and improve core infrastructure.
The Ministry of Tourism announced a three-day event called the Incredible India Tourism Investor’s Summit 2016 (IITIS) as a significant platform for the investors across the globe to explore investment opportunities available in the tourism sphere of one of the fastest growing economies. The event is scheduled to take place at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, starting on 21 September. The landscape of India’s tourism sector has arguably brought a new paradigm of growth and development in creating employment, generating income and fostering entrepreneurship. However, foreign investment in the sector and branding the country as a hub of new business development keeping tourism as the key focus is yet to see remarkable development. Dr. Mahesh Sharma, the Minister of State for Culture and Tourism, Government of India, said in a statement that the domestic tourism sector is expected to attract investments to the tune of INR 500,000 million from around 600 projects during this three-day investors’ summit.
MOT is organizing,Incredible India Tourism Investors Summit #IITIS to attract investment in tourism from 21-23-Sep pic.twitter.com/isDW7A38mQ
— Dr. Mahesh Sharma (@dr_maheshsharma) September 5, 2016
Investment system revolutionised
To change the investment policies across industries in India, which have not always had investor-friendly business models, this summit looks at showcasing the investment ecosystem in the tourism industry and help global investors understand the investment-ready projects in the country. A recent press note from the ministry outlines that this three-day event will strive to catalyze partnership in form of B2B linkages and identify opportunities for local players to move up the value chain through technical collaboration and global partnerships.
While the ministry is also trying to project the Indian tourism industry as a lucrative investment destination for the leading investors in the global travel and tourism sector, the investors can also expect tangible projects in various states and union territories of India.
Vinod Zutshi, the Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism, explained how the tourism landscape in India is undergoing significant transformation. “The travel and tourism sector in the country presents a plethora of investment opportunities in areas of infrastructure development, both from India and overseas. With the streamlining of infrastructure in the core and tourism-related sectors through investments and partnerships between the public and private sectors, Incredible India can be catapulted amongst the most sought after destinations in the world,” Vinod said.
What to expect at the IITIS?
The tourism investment summit will have presentations from all states which have investible properties or projects, and sessions describing why India is the right market to invest at this critical juncture of global economic upswing.
There will be participations from major stakeholders, including states/UTs, with interesting projects related to the banks & financial institutions, business developers, cruise liners, domestic investors, entertainment companies, global investors, helicopter services, hoteliers, infrastructure-developers, international associations, restaurateurs, spa and yoga centres, tour and travel operators, urban developers, venture capitalist and civic amenity providers among others.
However, the highlight of the summit would be the 600 projects from across the country and from varied tourism sectors on the table of 140 investors from 70 different companies for final discussions. Complementing business discussions, there will be around 21 seminars across two days with some of the tourism industry leaders covering interesting thematic sessions on states and their tourism potential. International tourism boards from USA, UAE, Thailand, Hong Kong & Shanghai and Singapore will have their road shows alongside their Indian counterparts from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, made a presentation on IITIS during a press meet in New Delhi, where he promised the summit to hold innovative panel discussions on core infrastructure for tourism, sessions on start-ups, digital India, investing in ‘Swadesh Darshan’, MICE and niche tourism products keeping a special focus on the Northeast and its development.
