Discussions on climate change dominate Commonwealth Games meeting

Discussions on climate change dominated the first day of the Commonwealth Games Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) here, with most participants calling for universal actions to battle climate change.

The meeting brought together 51 heads of state from Commonwealth nations more than two weeks ahead of the UN climate change talks in Copenhagen next month.

During a press conference in the afternoon, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said they would back anti-climate change actions with 30 billion U.S. dollars via an environmental fund that will be spent during the years 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Sarkozy said he had received encouraging promises from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a breakfast.

"Singh also told me that India will never produce more carbon dioxide than the average of all other nations and that India would never be an obstacle in climate change negotiations," he said.

Sarkozy added that France will propose the creation of a new UN body called the World Environment Organization, which will mainly implement agreements that will emerge from the Copenhagen meeting.

No nation would be obliged to choose between growth and carbon dioxide reduction, he continued, describing such an idea as "twentieth-century thinking."

Many of the Commonwealth nations are small island states that have been directly affected by rising sea levels, and others are in the Caribbean which have suffered more frequent and stronger hurricanes due to high sea temperatures.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed France's proposal, saying it is an attempt to bridge the gap between developed and developing nations in order to achieve a clear and legally enforceable deal in Copenhagen. But Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen cautioned that many details need to be settled.

"What we need to achieve in Copenhagen is an agreement on financing. The new fund will need a pledging procedure, and the most developed nations have to participate," Rasmussen said.

It has been accepted that the world's most industrialized nations have to make more efforts than developing nations, becausethey had polluted more to attain their current status, he added.

So far, 85 heads of government have already agreed to participate in the Copenhagen talks, Rasmussen said, adding that many more are considering it.

Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the outgoing chairman of CHOGM, stressed climate change in his speech during the opening ceremony.

"Climate change is a direct responsibility of those who use unclean technologies," he said, adding that "it is a new form of aggression and must be stopped."

The incoming chairman, Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Patrick Manning, said that CHOGM has an obligation to pave the way for the rest of the world "because it contains a microcosm of the international community; small islands, middle income nations and industrialized nations from the world's five continents."

CHOGM has brought representatives of 51 governments to Port of Spain, the capital of Caribbean island nation Trinidad and Tobago.

There are around 5,000 delegates at the conference, including representatives of commonwealth governments, youth organizations, businessmen and non-government organizations.

Govt to spend 678 crore on athletes for Commonwealth Games

A total of 1140 athletes including 485 women are getting help in their training for next year's Commonwealth Games through a scheme,worth Rs 678 crore, the sports ministry said on Thursday.

Responding to a query in Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Prateek Prakashbapu Patil said they are implementing a scheme, aimed at improving the performance of the Indian contingent in the 2010 Games.

The scheme covers all the competitions in the Games, to be held from October 3 to 14, and a total of 655 men and 485 women elite athletes have been identified for the training, Patil said.

The scheme has been finalised in consultation with Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the concerned national sports federations, he added.

The disciplines include Archery, Athletics, Aquatics, Badminton, Boxing (M), Cycling, Gymnastics, Hockey, Lawn Bowls, Netball (W), Rugby Sevens (M), Shooting, Squash, Table Tennis, Tennis Weightlifting, Wrestling and Elite Athletes with Disability (Athletics, Powerlifting, Table Tennis and Swimming).

India committed to organising successful Commonwealth Games 2010

India on Saturday reaffirmed its commitment to organising the best Commonwealth Games ever next year.

At the Sports Breakfast during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) here, Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi and Sindushree Khullar, secretary, sports ministry, outlined Delhi's preparations for the Games.

Khullar gave a detailed presentation on the progress made on various aspects of the 2010 Games scheduled Oct 3-14.

Khullar elaborated on the roles and responsibilities, financial support, venue updates, Games Village, tourist arrivals and accommodation, volunteer programme, preparedness, legacy and the Queens' Baton Relay.

Kalmadi listed some benefits of the Games like the creation of 2.5 million jobs and the economic impact of approximately $4,500 million for India over a period from 2008 to 2012, the 1,00,000 tourists in flow, investment in green infrastructure, pro-active waste management, greening and offset and green ceremonies.

"Environment is a critical component today," he said. "We will strive towards reducing the carbon footprint to establish the first green Commonwealth Games and set a benchmark for all future multi-disciplinary events," Kalmadi said.

Run up to Delhi Commonwealth Games: Home Guards trains personnel in English speaking

In view of the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2010 in Delhi, the Home Guards and Civil Defence Directorate has initiated a programme to train its personnel in spoken English.

Experts of British Lingua, a Delhi based English language training institution are aiding the personnel to polish their spoken English skills.

Briefing the media about training of personnel in speaking English,Home Guards and Civil Defence Deputy Director M S Upadhye, said the performance of the Home Guards personnel in the last 20 days has surpassed his expectation.

He added that the personnel have now started communicating in English.

“We are teaching the personnel how to speak in English and in the last 20 days, they spent five hours in learning English and they are performing very well,” Upadhye said.

“Infact their performance is more than what I was expecting and as a result the boys have now started to communicate in English with their colleagues and also do group discussion. It will have a good impact on others as well,” he added.

The British Lingua Managing Director, Birbal Jha, seemed pleased with the outcome.

“Keeping in mind our target - how to make them communicate with foreign visitors in English, to improve their pronunciation, their grammar knowledge and all the basics of English necessary for communication to help tourists, help them and give them direction, we are conducting the classes for them. Now also you will see them speaking in English and we feel very happy, Jha said.

The participants feel that the programme apart from helping them to improve English speaking skills, also boosted their self confidence.

Besides, the Home Guards volunteers are also being groomed to conduct themselves properly, courtesies, manners and etiquette, disaster and traffic management.

Department of Tourism, Haryana To Set Up Camping Accommodation In 5 Tourist Destinations In The State Before CWG 2010

The Department of Tourism, Government of Haryana has identified five tourist destinations in Haryana to set up camping accommodation before the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2010. These destinations are Surajkund, Hodal, Dharuhera, Morni and Damdama. The decision has been taken to provide additional accommodation at the National Capital Region (NCR) during the Games.
According to Keshni Anand Arora, Principal Secretary – Tourism, Government of Haryana, the state tourism department plans to develop the sites as full-fledged camping sites for tourists. The sites will be developed with private participation. The state government will offer the site on lease for a specified tenure and will also provide basic infrastructure like toilet blocks and common dining areas. She said, “We will act as a facilitator along with the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.”

The state tourism department will soon commence development work at the identified sites so that the sites can be handed over to the interested bidders. The state tourism department expects to provide accommodation to around 1,000 tourists through this model. As per sources, besides private operators, India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) may also bid for some of these sites. When contacted, an ITDC official said that the Corporation is looking in to the opportunities but nothing has been finalised yet. However, the official informed that the Corporation is also looking at managing camping sites across various destinations including Jaipur, Jammu and Puducherry.

Talking about other initiatives of Haryana Tourism in view of Commonwealth Games 2010, Arora said that the state tourism department along with Haryana Travel Mart (HTM) will host Grand Shopping Festival at Gurgaon from February 24, 2010 to March 14, 2010 to showcase Gurgaon as a shopping destination for tourists coming to NCR. Around 12 shopping malls in Gurgaon, along with hotels and restaurants will participate in the three-week long Festival.

DDA Commonwealth Games venues to overshoot deadlines

Weeks before the coordination committee of the Commonwealth Games Federation comes
for a recce on Delhi's preparedness for the Commonwealth Games 2010, talk of delays in the construction of competition venues has become reality. Officials at the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which is in charge of two important competition venues as well as the Commonwealth Games Village along with several practice venues, admitted that deadlines have been moved from December 2009 to March 2010.


The admission comes days after the urban development minister, Jaipal Reddy, last Thursday said that work on Games-related projects was on time. Incidentally, the coordination committee of the CGF will be submitting the report which is expected to decide whether the Games preparations in the city need to be monitored by the CGF, as announced by CGF chief Mike Fennell earlier in October. The move had been rejected by the Organising Committee, which had later negotiated with the CGF for the CoCom to decide if such a committee was needed. The CoCom is expected to submit its report in December.

The two venues which are immediately affected are Siri Fort Complex and the Yamuna Sports Complex. Both are competition venues, with the Yamuna Sports Complex scheduled to hold the archery test event on March 7, 2010. Said a senior DDA official, "The YSC is expected to be complete by February so that the test event can be held there. However, the Siri Fort cannot be made ready before March 31, 2020.'' The delay in deadline comes even as officially, the land agency had been claiming a deadline in December 2009. Sources added that even in March, the handover of the venues would be partial, as landscaping and other finishing touches would still be going on.

The reason for the postponement in deadline, according to DDA officials, is the inordinate delay over deciding the FOP field of play, that is, the turf for the playing area and other parts of the venues. Said the official, "Majority of the work that remains is in the interiors, specially the FOP, electrical and other aspects.'' While at YSC the FOP has been laid in some of the badminton and the squash court, it is the archery venue at the Yamuna complex that the land agency is concentrating on. The complex is the main competition venue for table tennis and archery.

It's not the first venue which has been delayed. Earlier, Delhi government had admitted that the Thyagraj Stadium has also overshot its deadline of September, along with the various venues under the supervision of the SAI. DDA officials, however, claim the delay would not impact preparations. Said a senior official, "The venues will be complete with plenty of time left for the OC to get the stadia ready for the Games.''

Travel Industry Hopeful of 10% growth during 2010 Games

Today's one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai not only proves to be turning point for a city that remains defiant in the face of terror, but also for India's tourism.

The industry is hoping to achieve a 10 per cent growth next year after a $1.3 billion drop in tourism revenues in the second quarter of 2009, compared to the same period a year earlier.

"Travel from the Middle East to India recorded a meager five per cent growth at the end of this year's second quarter, compared to nearly double the growth for the same period in 2008," said Waseem Rahmany, Senior Manager, Sales and Marketing, Al Rais Travel.

"However, the end of Q3 saw summer travel provide a much-needed boost to the tourism industry, which bridged the gap between revenue generated in 2008 and 2009 for the period."

Kuoni Travel Group India CEO and Managing Director, Zubin Karkaria, reiterated the sentiment, saying: "In the first quarter of 2009, travel to India from the Middle East took a nose dive; however, nearly 80 per cent of that lost market share was regained by the end of Q3."

He said: "The outlook for travel from this region to India next year is quite positive, with leisure and corporate travel indicating an upswing of nearly 10 per cent growth."

In order to stimulate inbound traffic for 2010, Indian Tourism Minister Kumari Selja said last week at the World Travel Market that a number of initiatives and events have been put in place to reach this goal, including special packages for the World Commonwealth Games in Delhi, which is expected to attract up to 100,000 people in October next year.

"We are already in the initial stages of planning extended holidays into India for those travelers who are flying down to attend the Games," Shakir Kantawala, General Manager of Jet Airways, Dubai and Northern Emirates, told Emirates Business. "We are positive it will turn out to be a huge draw for tourists."

Karkaria said: "Our team has already started working on creating special packages for the Commonwealth Games, which will be rolled out to international travel agencies by January 2010."

As one of the largest tour operators in India, with a turnover of Rs22.29bn in 2008 alone, the company is also in the business of offering wholesale packages to international travel agencies around the world.

India's tourism woes began in Q3 last year, when the full impact of the global recession reared its ugly head. Adding to that was the terrorist attack on Mumbai's iconic hotels, Taj and Trident, along with Leopold Café - a popular hangout with foreign tourists.

Statistics revealed a sharp fall in foreign tourists in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, which persisted well into this year.

In the December following the tragic events, arrivals fell 12.5 per cent on the previous year - a heavy toll for hoteliers in the middle of the peak season for foreign tourists.

The latest available figures by the country's tourism board indicate that 2.4 million foreigners visited India in the January-September period - down 3.3 per cent on the same period in 2008. However, independent studies reveal a grimmer picture of nearly an eight per cent decline in tourism.

A recent report by global consultancy HVS Hospitality Services described the financial year 2008-09 as "an unforgettable one for the Indian tourism" with an overall decline in occupancy and revenue per available room (RevPAR).

"Mumbai reported the largest RevPAR decline of 20.1 per cent for 2008-09 amongst the major cities in India," stated the October report titled Hotels in India - Trends and Opportunities.

Revenue per room in Mumbai hotels fell to Rs6, 513 from Rs8, 155 a year earlier.

"This was due to the Mumbai terror attacks. The event raised concerns in the minds of international travelers regarding India's worthiness as a safe and secure travel destination," the report said.

Occupancy rates were at 60.9 per cent in 2008-2009, down 18.4 per cent on the previous year.

Nationally, tourism contributed 6.1 per cent to India's GDP - down 0.7 per cent on 2007-08.

"In the aftermath of the attacks in Mumbai, it was predictable that tourism in India took a beating and was in need of an image makeover," said Kantawala. "Our way to deal with the crisis was to partner with India Tourism Board and use the media to our advantage."

Through Jet Airways' Visit India initiative, the airline flew media down on familiarization trips to those very cities and hotels that had suffered from attacks of terrorism.

Kantawala said: "We flew media to Mumbai, put them up in the Taj and Trident hotels, and took others to Delhi and Jaipur to show everyone that India knows how to bounce back."

However, by the second quarter of 2009 the H1N1 pandemic had spread its tentacles into India, providing yet another setback for the tourism industry.

"The Swine flu scare was even more lethal than the attacks on Mumbai," said Al Rais' Rahmany. "Almost 30 to 40 per cent of our business comes through the summer travel. But this year's panic brought that percentage down by nearly 10 points."

Rahmany, however, believes the worst for India's tourism sector is finally behind us. "Christmas and New Year travel to India is regaining momentum, with flights to the metros almost booked out, along with airfares increasing with high demand," he said.

According to figures released by the Indian Tourism Board, tourist arrivals are expected to rise again, around December. However, 2009's Q4 forecast of 4.8 million tourists is still down from the 5.5 million recorded in 2008.

Next year's 10 per cent growth in tourism is inevitable, say industry sources, with the government even developing 150 rural sites to generate more revenue. "I am quite bullish on India next year and its increased presence at global travel and trade fairs are a step in the right direction," said Karkaria.