Archana Sharma – New Delhi
In an effort to increase inbound tourist traffic, Vasundhara Raje, chief minister, Rajasthan informed that they will soon be reviewing the Tourism Unit Policy. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the eight edition of the Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB) held from April 19-21, 2015 at the Jaipur Exhibition and Convention Centre, Raje informed that they have increased the tourism budget exponentially, almost 100 per cent with the expectation that it will reap benefits in future. Raje also released a FICCI- EY Knowledge Paper on Unexplored Tourism Destinations of India at the launch. GITB, organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan, brought forward participation from 277 foreign buyers from 45 countries and 199 exhibitors. “With over 10,000 structured B2B meetings and support from 10 state government organisations like Indian Heritage Hotels Association (IHHA), Hotel and Restaurant Association of Rajasthan (HRAR), Rajasthan Tour Operators (RATO) and other tourism organisations, this is the largest GITB since its inception,” stated Dr A Didar Singh, secretary general, FICCI.
Raje informed about the discovery of heritage remains during the excavation for a metro construction site in the old city of Jaipur and felt that the discovery might help in increasing the number of tourists visiting the city with the new appeal of archeology. “By 2018, we expect foreign tourist arrivals to reach 2.5 million from the current 1.5 million and domestic traffic to be around 50 million from the present 30 million,” she stated. Also looking at facilitating investments in tourism sector, Raje said that the government will be organising a ‘Research in Rajasthan’ programme in mid-November, 2015. It will be focused on attracting investments in hospitality, improving the tourism circuits, etc. “The three day ‘Research in Rajasthan’ event will be inaugurated by the prime minister and will bring in many countries like Singapore, Japan and England to discuss various investment opportunities,” she added. Talking about the issue of air connectivity within the state, Raje mentioned that they might soon be looking at an internal airline to allow tourists to move faster within the state. She also announced that in 2016 GITB will be held from April 17-19. Usha Sharma, additional DG tourism, ministry of tourism, Government of India stated, “To identify new destinations, the government has started a new scheme ‘Swadesh Darshan’ to promote unexplored destinations.