Mohit Rathod – Jaipur
Rajasthan Government’s Tourism, Art and Culture department recently conducted the annual Rajasthan Festival to commemorate the 67th year of the state’s foundation, aimed at highlighting the state’s art, culture and heritage to attract tourism into the state. Rajasthan had launched an aggressive tourism promotion campaign in January 2016, along with which, the tourism department is also looking at other steps to boost the sector due to its importance to state’s economy. Tourism in fact contributes 14 per cent to the state’s GDP. Shailendra Agarwal, principal secretary, Tourism, Art and Culture, Government of Rajasthan, said, “Rajasthan has been a prime tourist attraction for over 40 years now. The state has always had a huge number of local activities and fairs which were confined to the people of Rajasthan, but now we are marketing these activities and transforming them into tourist attractions. We want to break the traditional image of Rajasthan in the minds of tourists, which is limited to forts, palaces and deserts. We are highlighting Rajasthan’s lesser known offerings by organising various large festivals.”
The state has signed 156 MoUs in the tourism sector and an investment of Rs 6,000 crore is expected to come this year, revealed Agarwal. Furthermore, tourism in Rajasthan has been growing at an average five-six per cent annually. Agarwal also expressed that the public-private partnerships (PPP) are essential for the survival of tourism today. Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) has plans to move some of their properties into PPPs, which is expected to bring more efficiency in operations and encourage tourism.
Commenting on the significance of the MICE segment, Agarwal said, “MICE is an important area for tourism in the state. Jaipur has huge potential for serving MICE due to its proximity and connectivity to New Delhi. We already have one convention centre and another is underway.”
