Farms luring tourists in Punjab
Punjab has developed many new tourism products and circuits. Among them there is Religious Tourism with efforts being made on Sufi & Buddhist Tourism and the latest being Farm Tourism. Punjab Tourism Board is also training tour operators.
DEVIKA JEET Punjab
Tourism is now focussing on marketing the state and increasing the number of visitors. In 2011, it ranked 14th amongst all the Indian states in the number of tourism arrivals and very soon they hope to be in the top ten
Alka Kapoor, cialised in something different and foreigners and students enjoy participating in this tourism specialisation,” she explains. fortable now,” Kapoor elaborates.
Punjab Tourism officials attended the recent Buddhist conclave organised by the Ministry of Tourism and have now developed a Buddhist itinerary for the state and will focus on promoting Buddhist tourism also. Developing tourism products based on Sufism is also on the cards because of the overwhelming popularity of the recent Sufi festival that was concluded in Amritsar.
“Training the travel agents about the different tourism circuits available in Punjab is our focus now. The religious circuit, freedom trail and historical sites attract the maximum visitors. In the Phase one of our training programme, we certified 25 tour operators from Chandigarh, 150 from Delhi and 25 from Manali. The next phase, being completed within this year, will include tour operator training programmes in Mumbai, Bengaluru and West Bengal. Fam trips will also be included in this,” says Kapoor.
Developing the state infrastructure is also underway and special focus has been laid on Amritsar. “We are receiving funds from the centre and looking at infrastructure development in the state especially Amritsar. We will be opening interpretation centre in the city to facilitate translations for foreigners,” concludes Kapoor.