‘Promote tourism together’

Kishan Reddy, Minister of Tourism, Culture and DoNER, says that collective efforts for the promotion of tourism will make India the most sought-after destination both for domestic as well as foreign tourists.

TT Bureau

Kishan Reddy, Minister of Tourism, Culture and DoNER, Governemnt of India, while giving the closing remarks at the webinar on “Developing Tourism in Mission Mode’, thanked the Prime Minister on paving the way for India’s tourism future through his words and initiatives. “Both the Ministry of Tourism and Culture are very happy to see the active participation and insightful observations from various fields of tourism. The industry now has to look at how we can overcome the challenges involved in the mission mode. For example, the method of selection of 50 destinations helps in tourism infrastructure planning in some way through convergence via Gati Shakti and how international coordination can be improved. We need to see how we can use the best example of PPP in tourism. We need to learn how to leverage innovation and digital medium to give priority to National Digital Tourism Mission. In the same way, we must know how should the local tourism sector and local economy be promoted, how can we provide heritage for socio-economic inclusiveness through heritage tourism, and also provide development.”

Echoing the PM’s thoughts, he said that travel and tourism is one of the largest economic sectors in the world. “After agriculture and textile sector, tourism can be the most employment generating sector in India. Many countries in the world have proved today that their GDP, revenue and employment run on tourism. Even in India, states like Goa and Kerala are working because of tourism. Now, we must promote tourism in all the provinces as well as the whole country. For this, Government of India, state governments, private stakeholders and civil societies must work together. To invest that much capital in such a big country, we must work shoulder to shoulder. This sector can provide more employment with minimum expenditure and we can tell about India’s identity in the world through tourism.”

Reddy insisted that with the PM’s vision, India is becoming a major tourism destination of the world. “Today, using technology, we are connecting our pilgrimage sites and tourist places with world-class infrastructure. Our PM has realized the vision of theme-based tourism. Ramayana circuit, Shri Krishna circuit, Jagannath Yatra circuit, Buddhist circuit, upcoming Ambedkar circuit, and many such examples are being realised through Bharat Gaurav train today. It was his dream that the common man with slippers should also travel by air. Today UDAAN – Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik scheme is working to fulfil that dream. We are committed to achieve the objectives of the Dekho Apna Desh campaign initiative. GoI has started a wonderful initiative like Youth Tourism Clubs,” he said. Lauding the Ministry of Culture, he said that their mission is to protect, promote and disseminate our culture in all its forms.