Tourism Minister: 'Special category awards to be introduced next year'

Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel, on Friday said that a special award category will be introduced for Samaritans who help tourists caught in difficult situations. The government will be giving the award as a part of its National Tourism Awards, said Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel on Friday. Just after the National Tourism Awards were announced, Prahlad Patel addressed a press conference. He said that the special category awards will begin from next year. "From next year onwards there will be a new category in Tourism awards for persons who have rendered special assistance or support to tourists like saving the life of a tourist, returning their baggage or helped in life-threatening situations," he said.

Online training academy of WTO available in Hindi

According to the tourism minister, the online training academy of the United Nations' World Tourism Organization (WTO), which has tourism-related courses will now be available in Hindi on their academy portal. "This will benefit millions of persons engaged in tourism in India to access world-class courses," said Patel. WTO's online training academy offers a number of interactive modules on various subjects pertaining to the organization. According to them, each module is developed by the WTO experts. It also includes tests to asses the user's progress. 

Read: PM Modi hails the tourism value of Kevadia, lauds its focus on nature

Read: SHOCKING: Bihar minister shamefully trivialises over 100 children's deaths due to encephalitis, says 'no one is permanent'

National Tourism Awards

The National Tourism Awards were presented on Thursday by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu. Along with him, Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Prahlad Singh Patel and Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) Zurab Pololikashvili were also present. According to reports, a total of 76 awards were given under various categories this year. While Andhra Pradesh bagged the top honour of the National Tourism Award, Goa and Madhya Pradesh were the joint winners in the Adventure Tourism category. Uttarakhand won the award for the Best Film Promotion-Friendly State. While Telangana won the award for the Best State for the innovative use of IT.

Read: Cauvery Calling rally enters Karnataka phase, given rousing welcome