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Govt urged to reconsider closure of tour offices

Tourism professionals have criticised government's move to close down some Indian tourist offices overseas, saying this could send wrong signals to foreign tour operators, specially when tourism was undergoing its worst ever crisis.

The Indian Association of Tour Operators and the Association of Tourism Professionals has urged tourism and culture minister Jagmohan to reconsider his decision to close down the offices in Buenos Aires, Madrid, Moscow, Stockholm and Tel Aviv at a time when there was a need to provide a concerted thrust to the tourism industry.

Jagmohan had earlier this week said some offices, which had failed to yield any substantial increase in tourism from the regions where they were situated would be closed down, and added that the closure of about five 'non-productive' Indian tourist offices overseas would help save around Rs 30 million annually.

He said the decision to close had been taken after studying the report of the expenditure reforms commission headed by former finance secretary K P Geethakrishnan.

However, the minister had said that no concrete decision had been taken so far, and this may take time since the concerned personnel have to be stationed elsewhere.

ATP president Subhash Goyal and IATO president Maharaj Inder Singh Wahi feels that steps needed to be taken to restore the confidence of the foreign tourist.

Wahi stressed that this was also reiterated in the recent meeting of the tourism task force, and wondered why tour operators were not consulted on this move.

He also said that alternative mechanisms should be put in place if closing these offices was irrevocable.

'You have been personally symbolising good governance and it would be in the interest of tourism in India that the Government of India tourist offices were governed professionally', Wahi wrote to Jagmohan.

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