The minister of state of tourism (independent charge), culture (independent charge) and civil aviation, Dr. Mahesh Sharma has said that the government has set a target to achieve one per cent share in global tourism arrivals by next year. Speaking at ‘Make in India’ National Workshop on Tourism, Media, and Entertainment in New Delhi, Sharma said “To achieve this target a multi- pronged strategy is being worked out. The focus of the Government is on improving the cleanliness, hospitality and safety aspects of Tourism. Also the synergy of the three ministries i.e., tourism, culture, and civil aviation will be improved substantially to take tourism to new heights.”
Highlighting the aspect of accessibility, the minister said, “Good connectivity to tourist destinations is the key factor for improving tourism. Ministry of tourism has allotted INR500 crore for the development of theme based tourist circuits. Accordingly, the tourism ministry has drawn plans for the development of five important circuits i.e., Ganga circuit, Krishna circuit, Buddha circuit, North East circuit, and Kerala circuit.” Elaborating the new initiatives, Dr. Sharma said, “A ‘Cruise plan’ will be ready for implementation soon. Similarly, a comprehensive plan will be prepared with the ministry of environment and forests for promoting wild life tourism.”
Dr Sharma said, “Since Dhabas along the highways are very popular among tourists, the Dhaba owners will be trained to provide hygienic food to tourists and travellers. Similarly, the souvenir industry should be developed to give fillip to local skills and craftsmanship.”
Among the steps taken recently, the Government has identified 25 monuments for Adarsh Smarak Campaign, in which they will be developed as model monuments. The path breaking initiative of e-ticketing at monuments has already begun with the launch of e-ticketing at the Taj Mahal at Agra and Humayun’s Tomb at Delhi. Dr. Sharma said, “My focus will be to promote both foreign as well as domestic tourism.” He urged the leaders in the tourism sector to take bold decisions to improve the tourism industry.