‘Tourism is one of the most neglected sectors in Maharashtra’: Devendra Fadnavis
Akshay Kumar– Mumbai
Newly appointed chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis plans to focus on tourism as part of his main agenda. The BJP chief minister feels that tourism is one of the most neglected sectors in Maharashtra, which is globally considered as a major revenue generator.
Speaking exclusively to Financial Express Online, Fadnavis said, “Following the path of the Central Government, I too will include tourism as one of our main agendas. We will promote Maharashtra, its culture and traditions; not only to the foreign tourists but also in the domestic markets. We have a lot of stories to tell in our state, if we can create a circuit like the Shivaji Maharaj Circuit and convey the story and the importance to the tourists, then I think the tourism footfall will increase.”
Speaking about the challenges, Fadnavis mentioned, “ The basic challenges which we have to overcome are infrastructure, cleanliness and clean toilet facilities in all tourist spots and to create a tourism culture in Maharashtra. We have to build good infrastructure facilities for the tourists to visit our state and also better accommodation. Clean toilets are a very basic necessity for the tourists, it is not a difficult task to accomplish. Finally, we have to make all the people aware about the benefits of tourism. We must sensitise all the people in the villages and towns, that tourism is beneficial for revenue generation and not a nuisance to the people. If we can successfully convey this message and create a tourism culture in Maharashtra then we can efficiently increase the tourism footfall to our state.”
The chief minister also mentioned that many tourists come to Maharashtra and then directly leave for other states without visiting Maharashtra. This segment of tourists must be tapped, which can only be done by improving the infrastructure and other facilities “I have noted that many foreign tourists land at Nagpur Airport and go directly to Kanha National Park or other places, but do not visit Nagpur. We have Pench National Park in Nagpur. To tap these tourists we have to provide them with improved facilities, at lease a clean toilet for that matter.”
