Challenges remain, but special tourism packages bring a big opportunity

“When I went to the region, I inquired about ancient forts and mud structures... During my interactions with officials of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, I got more insights than what I got from officials of the Archaeological Survey of India,” he said.

He said they found Buddha statues as high as 40 feet during their travels in the region. Patel added some of them have been damaged. Patel said that Ladakh has great potential for adventure tourism. “We issued an advisory abroad about this, and it made a major impact on tourism [there]...”

He said issues like safety were among the Centre’s key concerns when it opened 135 peaks for trekking last month to attract more adventure enthusiasts. He added the decision was taken at a meeting with state tourism ministers.

Patel said Himachal Pradesh tourism minister pointed to dangers. “He said that the state has the best natural setting for bungee-jumping, but within a year, there were four reported deaths,” said Patel. He added that while such deaths occur in other countries, too, the bad press for India was significant.

He underlined the need for support for tourists, who want to go for trekking. Patel added trained manpower was needed to accompany these tourists.

Patel lauded the conclave, which brought together best minds, visionaries and government representatives from the tourism industry to discuss strategies and growth drivers.

He added it was encouraging that a media house has started it. “In my term as the tourism minister, I will continue to hold deliberations with media so that ideas and issues are brought to us.” NEW DELHI: The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which has been making attempts to revamp its image, is still facing challenges with its online ticketing structure.

Specially designed tourism packages for states like Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, however, have been getting sold out within days. Rajni Hasija, director of tourism and marketing at IRCTC, said at the Hindustan Times Tourism Conclave that demand for tickets online has been rising year after year.

Hasija was speaking at the ‘Destination Tourism in India’ panel, along with Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, secretary commissioner of tourism of Madhya Pradesh government, and Rina Mohapatra, joint resident commissioner of the Odisha government.

“To have a seamless experience, we have to work with banks, internet and ticketing ecosystem and even if a single one malfunctions, the ticket is cancelled,” she said, addressing a query on ways to manage bad press on Twitter.

Hasija said that internet now accounts for over 75% of IRCTC’S ticketing source. The systems were recently upgraded to allow for 24,000 bookings per minute.

Kidwai spoke about how lesser known places are now drawing in more tourists due to movies.

“A movie like Stree did a lot to send more tourists to Chanderi, where footfall went up from 8,000 to 23,000 tourists,” he said. In MP, 25% of tourists come from Japan, he said, followed by Russia, China and Germany. Some of the most popular sites in the state are Gwalior and Khajuraho,” he said.

He said the state is now working on an eco-tourism policy under which professionals can audit and prepare plans.

Mohapatra said that Odisha “has a gorgeous stretch of coast line which can be tapped. The state government is proactively taking actions towards the growth of tourism sector; connectivity, branding and promotion are key.”

› A movie like Stree did a lot to send more tourists to Chanderi, where footfall went up from 8,000 to 23,000 tourists.

FAIZ AHMED KIDWAI, secretary commissioner of tourism, Madhya Pradesh