New approach needed to promote tourism industry: Prahlad Patel
New Delhi, Mar 19: Union Minister for Tourism Prahlad Patel on Friday said that a new approach is needed to take Indian tourism industry to a new height with the active support and coordination of the State Governments.
Replying to the three hour debate in the Rajya Sabha over the discussion on the Ministry, he said that the tourism industry works on the perception and the entire world has been affected.
“I salute, the hotel owners, travel agents, guides, they have stood with the government in these testing times. They haven’t criticised government. Tourism runs on perception. Indian Government Tourism Department is only one of the stakeholder,” Mr. Patel said.
Referring to the causes of the decline of the industry, he said that the tourism industry dipping, because it does not have money to pay electricity bill, property taxes. These are all state subjects and the states should have taken appropriate steps, the Minister added.
“There have been 1.8 lakh foreign tourist and 2.2 lakh domestic tourists traveling abroad.
Describing about the Central Government scheme of ‘Visit our own country’, he said that the States need to create such environment which enthuse the tourists with security and confidence and one has to have confidence on the system.
He also said that now a day, the permission for the shooting at the tourist centres of the central government, Mr Patel said that the required permission is now being given in a very less time and as of now, over 30 Bollywood films being shot in Jammu and Kashmir.
IN a bid to promote the tourism, the Government has started giving all information in local languages and the State Governments need to develop the infrastructure at local level, the Minister said.
Referring to the historical sites of Dhaulabira, Rakhigarhu, Kalibanga, the Minister said that the country has all the sites which a tourist wants to see and we all need to work together to take the Indian tourism industries to a new height. The Centre is going to announce the ‘ National Tourism Policy’ soon, he added.
(UNI)