Fly Varanasi to Sarnath soon
Organised for the first time by FICCI and the State Tourism Board, the Uttar Pradesh Travel Mart is all set to turn eyes. On the occasion of its launch, the state tourism minister unveiled a few plans, including a Varanasi-Sarnath direct flight.
UPTM 2015 was recently launched in New Delhi in the presence of OP Singh, Tourism Minister, Uttar Pradesh, Amrit Abhijat, Secretary–Tourism, Uttar Pradesh, Jyotsna Suri, Senior Vice President, FICCI and Rahul Chakravarty, DirectorTourism, FICCI. The website for the Mart, (www.ficciuptm.com) was also lunched at the event. The first edition of UPTM will be held in Lucknow from February 22-24, 2015. It will be organised by the state government, the state tourism board and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) for the next five years, according to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed by them this year.
Chakravarty informed that 75 hosted foreign tour operators from across the world and 15 inbound operators, 25 domestic tour operators from across India along with around 80 sellers of the tourism products promoting Uttar Pradesh as a destination, will participate. A familiarisation (FAM) trip will also be organised at the end of the Mart, for foreign tour operators to Lucknow, Varanasi and Agra, he added.
Suri said, “The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav understands the benefits of tourism. He knows what it can do to grow employment and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of his state. So, he conceptualised an initiative of the UPTM.”
In his address to the meet, Singh said, “Our Chief Minister has brought in a new slogan ‘Green UP, Clean UP’. We’ll have to set up a sustainable way of living. He said, “UP is a state where you find everything from heritage to culture. And we all have to make an effort together to make it one of the best spots for tourism.”
Abhijat said that a ‘Heritage Arc’ will soon be cre- ated, covering Agra, Lucknow, and Varanasi. An international cricket stadium and Jai Prakash Narayan Convention Centre in Lucknow are being planned to be set up. He added,
Abhijat also said that the Heritage Hotel Policy would provide a thrust to the hospitality sector of Lucknow, Varanasi, and Agra. The Policy offers entrepreneurs in the sector subsidy in luxury and entertainment tax. He added that the website is being renovated to offer more information.