‘N-E, Varanasi to get a tourism boost’
NEW DELHI: Tourism in the Northeast would get a big boost in the coming months, claims Union tourism minister Mahesh Sharma.
“We would like tourists to explore the natural beauty of Northeast. I will later this month be spending two days there and will meet tourism ministers of all the Northeast states,” Sharma told HT.
He also said that besides working on ways to improve connectivity, there are also plans to have several festivals in the region. “The first would be Rangoli which would showcase the lifestyle food habits of the tribes in Assam”, he said.
Besides the Northeast, pilgrimage tourism — especially that in Varanasi — will get a facelift. “Pilgrimage tourism is the lifeline of Varanasi, but poor road connectivity and transportation facilities are a deterrent. There is a dire need to build alternative roads in some places to ensure better connectivity,” he said.
“We have already started taking initiatives to make the tourists aware of the rich cultural legacy of Varanasi.”
Sharma also informed that five more countries — including France, China, UK, Spain and Italy — would soon get the e-visa facility.
The minister also announced the launching of a new tourism policy in May. Addressing participants at a workshop held on the formulation of National Tourism Policy 2015, the minister explained that potential of existing policy has not been used fully and that the new policy would make it dynamic in order to meet the challenges that have emerged in today’s world — including technological and global competitiveness.