ABHISHEK CHAKRABORTY – Jaipur
Rajasthan, one of the leading tourist destinations in India, expects a growth of about 8 per cent in foreign tourists in 2013. This was disclosed by Rakesh Srivastava, principal secretary, tourism, Rajasthan government, on the sidelines of the Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB) in Jaipur, an initiative of the tourism ministry, department of tourism (Rajasthan) and FICCI.
“We expect an increase of around 7 per cent to 8 per cent in foreign tourist arrivals in the current calendar year,” said Srivastava, indicating that the state attracted nearly 30 million tourists, of whom 1.5 million were foreign nationals. “The year-on-year growth of inbound tourists in Rajasthan in 2012 was 8 per cent. Domestic inbound growth stood at about 6.75 per cent and the overall inflow rise was about 5.74 per cent,” added Shrivastava.
The principal secretary also said that the state tourism department is focusing on improving infrastructure at major tourism destinations in the state to attract tourists. “We are developing new circuits like the Jaisalmer-Jodhapur desert circuit and Jaipur-Ajmer circuit. First we will upgrade the infrastructure, and then we will put it on the website,” he stated.
According to him, Rajasthan’s investment-friendly policy such as low land conversion charges at select areas and the remission of Luxury Tax by 50 per cent for start-up ventures will encourage the tourism industry. “Our Tourism Budget for 2013-14 is INR 40 crore and we are also getting support from the ministry of tourism, Government of India. We have also sent our proposal to the Centre for a mega tourism project in Jaipur,” Srivastava said.
Talking about hygiene, which is considered very important in tourism, Srivastava mentioned, “We are trying to make a congenial atmosphere for tourists, a home away from home. We would provide them with a clean bed-sheet, a clean room and a clean bathroom, apart from security.”
The Rajasthan government is also working on innovating new products in the sector such as salt tourism and promote them as unique destinations. “Sambhar (salt lake) is the largest inland salt lake in the country. Now with the help of the Hindustan Salt Limited we are going to improve the infrastructure there and promote the place as a heritage property. Moreover, this area gets a large number of migratory birds. So this will become a new attraction and will encourage tourists to visit again and again,” added Shrivastava.
