Ministry drafts 7-point plan to rev up tourism

Amiti Sen

New Delhi, Dec 3: The tourism ministry has formulated a seven-point programme to pull the tourism sector out of the troubled waters it has fallen into since the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US. The programme includes boosting domestic tourism, propagating India as a safe destination and tapping new markets in the East and South.

According to the government estimates, arrival of tourists has gone down by 20 per cent while earnings have declined by 16 per cent during September and October over the same period last year.

The ministry believes that the best way to revert back to a normal situation is to get the message clearly across to all the countries that things have not changed at all in India due to the Afghanistan war.
The programme specifies that alarm bells should not be rung too often in the country as it has an adverse impact on potential tourists.
Sources said the ministry is trying to convey to all stakeholders in the sector that they should refrain from making negative comments about the state of tourism in the country.

The ministry is also trying to propagate India as a safe and secure destination. It has sent out word to all embassies and foreign offices to make every effort to spread the message that it is safe to come to India.

Domestic tourism is another area, according to the programme, where the ministry is focussing. The thrust is particularly in promoting tourism-connected to pilgrimage.

Union tourism minister Jagmohan has already visited a number of pilgrim centres, including Buddhist circuits, to see how those places could be improved. Mr Jagmohan is also talking to several states to improve infrastructure and other facilities in tourist destinations, sources said.

Another point in the programme refers to breaking new grounds in the East and South, particularly in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia. Talks with a number of countries like China and Korea has already begun and soon schemes would be launched to tap these markets.

Tourism road-shows will also be organised in the traditional markets of the West and North and special schemes would be devised to attract more tourists.

Finally, the programme talks about bringing about a reform movement from within to make the country more creative and constructive and bring about a work culture of the highest class. The programme says conditions have to be created to help India attain a good reputation for ethical trade and business practices.