Tamil Nadu turns a new leaf

Dr. M. Mathiventhan, Minister of Tourism, Govt of Tamil Nadu, shares how they are trying to develop new tourism products in the state, apart from just being a hub for spiritual and religious tourism.

TT Bureau

Sharing that the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu is giving a lot of interest in developing the Department of Tourism as well as Tamil Nadu Tourism Corporation, Dr. M. Mathiventhan, Minister of Tourism, Government of Tamil Nadu, said, “We have many new plans in tourism. This is the first time, Tamil Nadu Government has formulated a scheme known as the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Scheme, under which we pick 10-20 destinations every year and get the grant from government to develop it from tourism point of view. For example, we are now developing sites in hill stations like Kolli Hills, Javadi Hills, Yelagiri Hills and Kodaikanal. Also, we are clubbing it with adventure activities.” He added, “We are also coming out with the new tourism policy, which will be released soon. In addition, we have many other new plans, which we are kickstarting one-by-one.”

Centre support
Claiming that the Central Government and Ministry of Tourism has been “very helpful”, he shared, “It’s nice to see the Government of India (GoI) giving so much support to tourism. We will push many new projects in tourism, including circuits, corridors and themes. I think the GoI is also allocating more funds when it comes to tourism after COVID.”

Big on domestic
When asked about domestic tourism booming now, he shared, “When it comes to Tamil Nadu, it’s a spiritual hub. We have many temples and many tourists fly from other countries as well as other states to Tamil Nadu, especially to visit temples.