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Working on holistic plan to boost tourism: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for the need to support businesses such as homestays, small hotels, and restaurants
Foreign tourist arrivals rose from 200000 in January last year to 800000 the same month in 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday and added the government is working on a holistic plan to develop destinations to boost the tourism sector.
“Coastal tourism, beach tourism, mangrove tourism, Himalayan tourism, adventure tourism, wildlife tourism, ecotourism, heritage tourism, spiritual tourism, wedding destinations, tourism via conferences, and sports tourism have great potential for development,” he said at the seventh post-budget webinar titled “Developing Tourism in Mission Mode”. Modi said these webinars work as a catalyst in achieving the goals set in the budget.
He underlined the importance of the Ramayan Circuit, Buddha Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Northeast Circuit, and Gandhi Circuit in boosting tourism. “[It is a] myth that tourism is a fancy word associated only with the high-income groups of the country,” he said. “The India of today is changing this situation.”
He referred to Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi and said 70 million people visited it last year after its renovation compared to around eight million a year earlier.
Modi added 1.5 million devotees have visited Kedarnath Temple in Uttarakhand compared to only 400000-500000 before the completion of reconstruction work there. He said 2.7 million tourists visited the Statue of Unity in Gujarat within a year of its completion.
Modi said every tourist destination can also develop its own revenue model. He added villages are becoming centres of tourism. “The central government has started the Vibrant Village Scheme for the villages situated along the border...”
He called for the need to support businesses such as homestays, small hotels, and restaurants. “Tourism has the same potential in the country as agriculture, real estate development, infrastructure, and textile.”
