Soon tourists arriving in India will be able to gain
information on popular customer preferences, accommodation facilities, price
range for hotels and the like with the click of a mouse as the Tourism Ministry
(MoT) is all set to launch NIDHI — National Integrated Database of Hospitality
Industry.
Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State, Tourism &
Culture, said the MoT is set to launch NIDHI and a Certification System
for the hospitality sector on September 27 on the occasion of World Tourism
Day.
The system is worked out in association with the Quality
Council of India (QCI) in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic to boost confidence
in the minds of customers.
“NIDHI will be a source of information for the country
and the world. MoT had 1600 hotels registered with it; after the discussion
with stakeholders, this figure has reached 21, 000,” Patel tweeted.
Discussions have been initiated with states and other
stakeholders for implementation of NIDHI and the certification programme SAATHI
(System for Assessment, Awareness & Training for Hospitality Industry).
The Certification has three components — Self Certification
(Initial stage), Capacity Building (training in terms of SOPs and Guidelines),
and the Third-party Assessment.
Meanwhile, the ministry is considering a proposal by the
Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) to open 405 new peaks in the Himalayan region
to boost tourism opportunities and promote mountaineering. This is in addition
to 137 peaks that it opened last year for foreigners, including the 8,589-metre
tall Kanchenjunga, the third highest peak in the world, for mountaineering
expeditions and trekking.
