1st SAARC Tourism Summit
India’s first SAARC Tourism Summit will be hosted by Maharashtra in Aurangabad this October and will showcase the various tourist destinations the state has to offer.
The Ministry of External Affairs has decided to hold the country's first SAARC Tourism Summit in Aurangabad, the tourism capital of Maharashtra in the second week of October. The state government will also provide financial assistance of up to ` 50 lakh to entrepreneurs in the tourism business under the ‘Start Up’ scheme.
The two-day summit aims to tap FDI under ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make in Maharashtra’ schemes. Valsa Nair Singh, IAS, Principal Secretary Tourism and Culture, Government of Maharashtra, said, “The Ajanta-Ellora caves have always been the biggest tourism attraction in the state among foreigners and Indians. Ajanta also has one of the world's best visitor centre with several life-size replicas of Padmapani (sculptures of Buddha). The conference aims at promoting Aurangabad and other destinations of Maharashtra.”
The Department of Tourism (DoT) is trying to seek appointment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the event. On the first day, officials from SAARC countries, which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhu- tan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, will attend the conference. On the second day, the ministers of tourism from these countries and from Indian states would participate.
Singh adds, “2017 will be celebrated as Visit Maharashtra Year and the year 2018 we will be celebrating completion of 200 years of the discovery of Ajanta Caves by British officer John Smith. A campaign to promote tourism destinations of Maharashtra all over the world will be undertaken aggressively under Visit Maharashtra 2017. In 2018, many events will be hosted to attract international and domestic tourists to Ajanta and other destinations of the city. A proposal to set up Buddhist Centre on MTDC's 900 acres land at Ellora is under consideration."
In addition, the threeday Ellora-Ajanta Festival will be held under the aegis of MTDC from October 14 to 16, 2016.