Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said better infrastructure has put remote Indian villages on the tourist map as has redevelopment of religious centers like Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
Addressing a post-Budget webinar on the subject of ‘Developing Tourism in Mission Mode’, Mr. Modi said it was a myth that tourism is a fancy word associated only with the high-income groups of the country.
He noted that ‘yatras’ have been a part of India’s cultural and social life for centuries and people used to go on pilgrimages even when there were no resources available to them and gave the example of Char Dham Yatra, Dwadash Jyotirling Yatra and 51 Shaktipeeth Yatra.
The Prime Minister said that these places had been neglected over the years due to hundreds of years of slavery and the political neglect in the decades after Independence.
“The India of today is changing this situation”, he said noting that the increase in facilities leads to an increase in attraction among the tourists.
Mr. Modi gave the example of Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi and said that around 80 lakh people used to visit the temple in a year before it was rebuilt, but the tourist footfall crossed 7 crore last year after the renovation. He also mentioned that 15 lakh devotees have visited Kedarnath Temple compared to only 4-5 lakh before the completion of reconstruction work in Kedarghati.
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The Prime Minister underlined that India’s tourism sector can grow manifold with increase in civic amenities, good digital connectivity, good hotels and hospitals and excellent infrastructure. He gave the example of Indian villages.
“Our villages are becoming centers of tourism”, the Prime Minister remarked as he underlined that remote villages are now coming up on the tourism map due to their improving infrastructure. The Central government has started the Vibrant Village Scheme for the villages situated along the border, he said emphasising the need to support businesses such as homestays, small hotels and restaurants.
He said India needs to think out of the box and plan ahead to take tourism to new heights. Throwing light on the parameters for the development of a tourist destination, Mr. Modi listed the potential of the place, ease of travelling to the destination and new ways to promote the destination.
“Every tourist destination can also develop its own revenue model”, he said.
PTI adds:
The webinar is part of a series of 12 post-budget webinars being organised by the government to seek ideas and suggestions for effective implementation of the initiatives announced in the Union Budget.
The Union Budget has stated that promotion of tourism will be taken up in mission mode, with active participation of states, convergence of government programmes and public-private partnerships.
If civic amenities are increased, there is good digital connectivity, good hotels and hospitals, and cleanliness, India's tourism sector can grow manifold, he said.
The Prime Minister said wedding destinations are a big business now, and this has a huge potential in India.
"We should develop at least 50 tourist destinations which will appear on the list for tourists whenever they think of visiting India," he added.
