Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development and Registration Act, 2002
No: 15 Dated: Jun, 28 2002
THE HIMACHAL PRADESH TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND REGISTRATION ACT, 2002
(ACT NO. 15 OF 2002)
AN ACT to re-enact a law relating to registration of persons engaged in tourist trade, constitution of the Tourism Development Board and other matters connected therewith.
BE it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh in the Fifty-third Year of the Republic of India, as follows :-
CHAPTER-I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent and commencement.- (1) This Act may be called the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development and Registration Act, 2002.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Himachal Pradesh.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
2. Exemptions.- (1) The Government may direct that all or any of the provisions of this Act shall not, subject to such terms and conditions as it may specify, apply generally,-
(i) to a premises used for a public purpose of a charitable nature or to any class of premises used for such purpose;
(ii) to a premises held by a public trust for a religious or charitable purpose and let out at a nominal rent;
(iii) to a premises held by a public trust for a religious or charitable purpose and administered by a local authority; and
(iv) to a rest house, dak bungalow, circuit house, inspection hut, serai or any institution or premises managed or run by the Government or a local authority.
(2) The Government may also by order, direct that all or any of the provisions of Chapter-IV shall not apply to such hotels or institutions, or such class of hotels or institutions, subject to such terms and conditions, if any, as may be specified in the order.
3. Definitions. - In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-
(a) "adventure sports" means an outdoor activity undertaken for sports or recreation on land or in water or in the air, as the case may be, which shall include water sports, aero-sports, trekking, rafting, skiing, heli-skiing, bunji-jumping and ballooning with an inherent risk to the life or limb of the participant or any other sports as may notified by the Government from time to time;
(b) "adventure sports operator" means any person or organization or enterprise, as the case may be, engaged in or offering to engage for adventure sports on commercial basis i.e. for the purpose of training, recreation or sports;
(c) "Board" means Tourism Development Board established under section 4 of this Act;
(d) "Certificate of registration" means a certificate issued under this Act;
(e) "Council" means Tourism Development Council established under section 17 of this Act; (f) "Government" means the Government of Himachal Pradesh;
(g) "guide" means a person who engages himself as a paid guide for the tourists;
(h) "local authority" means the Municipal Corporation or Municipal Council or Cantonment Board or Nagar Panchayat or Gram Panchayat or Special Area Development Authority;
(i) "malpractice" includes cheating, touting, impersonation, obstruction in allowing free choice for stay or travel arrangement, charging rent or remuneration higher than that fixed under this Act, failure to display the rent list, failure to give cash memos, wilful failure to execute an order within the stipulated period and according to the terms agreed upon, failure to provide accommodation to the tourists when available, failure to provide promised facilities and providing substandard equipment and untrained personnel by the adventure sports operator;
Explanation.- The expression "touting" means coercing for accommodation, transportation, sight seeing or pestering for any particular premises, establishment or any other services connected with tourism with the consideration of personal benefit;
(j) "Official Gazette" means the Rajpatra, Himachal Pradesh;
(k) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(l) "prescribed authority" means the authority notified as such by the Government; provided that different authorities may be notified for different areas and for different provisions of this Act;
(m) "season" means the period from 15th April to 15th July and from 15th September to 15th January; and rest of the period shall constitute "off-season"; (n) "tourism unit" means any establishment providing facilities and services to the tourists and includes hotel, resorts, motels, time share units, apartments, houseboats, motor caravans, guest houses, yatriniwases, restaurants and bars, amusement parks, theme parks, water sports centres, aero-sports centres, golf courses, handicraft village complexes, camps, river cruises, lake cruise projects, light and sound shows, adventure sports complexes, training institutes for adventure sports or tourism industry doing business for a monetary consideration and any other type of establishment as may be notified by the Government from time to time;
(o) "tourism unit operator" means any person who owns, runs or operates a tourism unit and includes a person managing or operating the affairs on behalf of the proprietor;
(p) "tourist" means a person or group of persons, including pilgrims visiting the State of Himachal Pradesh; and
(q) "travel agent" means a person engaged in the business of making travel arrangements for tourists for monetary consideration.
Explanation.- the expression "travel arrangements" includes,-
(a) arrangement for transportation by any mode ;
(b) arrangement for lodging with or without board; and
(c) rendering other services such as arranging for games and sports or receipt or despatch of personal belongings of a tourist or taking photograph(s) of a tourist, hiring of guides, photographers, arranging equipment for travel or adventure sports.