Tourism min to launch portal to provide jobs to ex-servicemen

The government will soon launch a portal that will help provide employment to ex-servicemen in the tourism sector by putting them in contact with the industry, a senior official said today.
Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma said ex-servicemen retire early and they have credibility and are trusted by tourists.
"They can be guides, taxi drivers and security guides," she told reporters after the conclusion of a 20-day tourism festival, Paryatan Parv, here.
Those interested in such jobs can register on the portal and then the industry can post its requirements accordingly and the ministry of tourism will match the two, she said.

Officers of the short service commission serve in the army for around 14 years, but have the option of a permanent commission. Many of them retire and take up varied jobs, and the ministry now wants to bring them into the tourism network, said Verma.
Verma also said the ministry is planning to provide accreditation to online travel agency like Oyo Rooms, Air B&B and other such portals to bring them within the framework of the ministry.

Officials say that since most tourist make their travel itinerary digitally, it was necessary to standardise the various aggregators online.
Verma said the 20-day festival was a great success and more than 5 lakh people participated in it from across the country.

At the culmination of the festival, the ministry also announced that the 'Adopt a Heritage' project launched in September this year has received huge response. The project aims to get private players to develop and maintain heritage sites.
As of now, Verma said, they have received 57 responses and 14 monuments have been chosen by seven entities who have shown interest.
Some of the monuments which have found takers include the Jantar Mantar and the Safdarjung Tomb in Delhi, the Sun Temple and the Ratnagiri Monuments in Odisha and the Hampi in Karnataka among others.