Rajasthan Domestic Travel Mart- 2023

• 17 Jul 2023

Why In News?

On July 15, 2023, Rajasthan Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh inaugurated the third edition of Rajasthan Domestic Travel Mart at Rajasthan International Center, Jhalana, Jaipur to promote domestic tourism in the state.

key points

• Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh said that there are immense possibilities of domestic tourism in the state. Rajasthan Tourism is one of the most preferred destinations in the country due to its tourism products, tourism friendly policies, plans and innovations.
• Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation Chairman Dharmendra Rathore said that Rajasthan with its visionary tourism policies like Rural Tourism Policy, Film Promotion Policy is a role model for states across the country. It is the first state to give industry status to the tourism and hospitality sector.
• He said that so far around 1000 hotels have benefited from this in areas like UD tax and electricity rebate. The state government has also increased the tourism development fund from Rs 1000 crore to Rs 1500 crore. In addition, 5 international golf courses and 5 MICE centers are also coming up in the state.
• Rajeev Arora, Chairman, Rajasthan Small Scale Industries Corporation said that due to the initiative of the government, 206 new projects with a proposed investment of Rs 4500 crore and 14856 rooms have been registered in the year 2022 as compared to 187 projects in the year 2019.
• In the year 2022, 10.87 crore tourists visited Rajasthan as compared to 2.20 crore during the year 2021. The increase in the number of tourists by 8 crores in one year is a big achievement of the state government.
• Gayatri Rathore, Principal Secretary, Tourism Department said that efforts have been made by the state government to include a maximum number of tourism units in the ambit of industry benefits.
• The state government has enforced conversion orders on hotels, motels, hotels with 10 or more rooms in rural areas, hotel-run tourism units on RIICO land, hotels, RTDC and RSHC hotels, central and state government museums, by the revenue department and the district collector.
• Rajasthan is a favorite destination not only in tourism but also in the field of investment. New religious circuits are also being developed in the state.
• Apoorva Kumar, President, FHTR said that along with promoting tourism, there is an urgent need to preserve the tangible and intangible heritage of the state and that is why this year the theme of the Mart is aptly Sustainable Tourism.
• A travel publication on Regal Rajasthan– Sustainability Empowering the Future was also released during the event.
• It is noteworthy that RDTM is being organized by the Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan and Federation of Hospitality and Tourism of Rajasthan (FHTR). This year the theme of the Mart has been Sustainable Tourism.
• Over 200 exhibitors from Rajasthan displayed their tourism products and over 200 domestic tour operators from across India participated in the event which lasted till 16th July.
• Over 7000 B2B structured meetings between buyers and sellers took place during the two days, showcasing the efficiency and potential of their over 600 tourism products like hotels, motels, resorts, eateries, heritage properties, amusement parks etc.
• Buyers from almost all the states of the country like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Odisha etc. participated in the Mart.