ETW STAFF – New Delhi
A roadshow on CII Tourism Fest was organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi recently. Addressing the gathering Rahul Pandit, chairman, Hospitality Core Group, CII Tourism Fest 2013 and president & executive director, The Lemon Tree Hotel said, “Development of Integrated Tourism Circuit (ITC) is the key to bring this region on global tourism map, since no city has ever progressed in isolation on tourism front. There is a need to club together and showcase to the world, a complete package which includes unique strengths and attractions of various northern states like Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, UP, Uttarakhand and J&K to upscale tourist inflow in the region, both domestic and international.”
Pandit stated that it the region needs to be promoted as a combined tourism hub to leverage its unique strengths to the fullest and attract foreign tourists and investments. “Tourism is a business that brings both money as well as smiles. This sector contributes 5.6 per cent to India’s GDP presently and has the potential to double in the next 10 years, considering our great heritage, beautiful locations and cheaper medical facilities. We just need to brand it well. What is needed is effective and aggressive marketing and branding strategies to let the world know, what we have to offer. To fulfil this objective, CII Tourism Fest is being organised with participation of all key stakeholders like the various state governments, tour and travel industry and the hospitality sector,” he added.
Jayant Davar, chairman, CII northern region and co-chairman & MD, Sandhar Technologies said that the growth of tourism and hospitality sector in India is critical to achieve overall inclusive growth of the country, owing to the immense potential of this sector to generate jobs and circulate the economy, considering the fact that the employment generation in tourism and hospitality sector is three times more than manufacturing sector.
