New Delhi: Despite a plethora of announcements to develop destinations in domestic tourist centres across the country, no concrete steps have been taken in this regard as yet, opined tourism experts.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, tourism expert Garish Oberoi discussed about various destinations in the domestic centres. “Over the years, the government has announced to develop domestic tourist centres but nothing has been done so far. There were plans to develop 50 destination places this year too but there is no initiative for promotional activity to increase tourism at domestic as well as international level,” he said.
Expressing similar views, another expert Rajiv Mehra said, “The government announced to develop 50 destinations this year but we are yet to see any progress in the projects announced in 2023. We have no idea what will happen with earlier announcements. Decrease in promotional activities overseas will impact tourism activities.”
Union Minister of Tourism Gajendra Singh Sekhawat informed the Lok Sabha on Monday that the Ministry of Tourism issued operational guidelines to all states for submission of project proposals. "On receipt of the project proposals from the State governments, the same were evaluated on the given parameters such as connectivity to the site, tourism ecosystem, carrying capacity, sustainability measures for operation and management, project impact, and tourism marketing plans. While implementation of projects sanctioned under SASCI scheme (Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment) is being undertaken by the State Implementing Agencies, the Ministry of Tourism has formulated mechanism to review the progress of sanctioned projects from time to time, to ensure seamless implementation of the sanctioned projects,” Sekhawat said.
As per the information, the Central government under ‘Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) – Development of Iconic Tourist Centres to Global Scale’, sanctioned 40 projects in 23 States in 2024-25, with the primary objective to comprehensively develop iconic tourist centres across the country, and simultaneously focus on branding and marketing the sites at global scale.
Tourism expert Subhash Goel said to ETV Bharat, “We are not aware whether these previous tourist destinations have been developed or not. Tourism ministry has already reduced the promotional and marketing budget. Now the allocation is only Rs 3 crore which will not be sufficient for promotional activity overseas. In fact, we will not be able to hire booths and participate in exhibitions. The foreign tourist footfall is yet to touch the figure of pre-Covid period which directly impacts job creation opportunities and foreign exchange.”
However, minister Sekhawat stated that the government is actively promoting all tourist destinations through various initiatives. “Ministry of Tourism promotes various tourist destinations and products of the country including lesser known destinations in domestic and international markets through its various promotional initiatives such as website, social media promotions, participation in events, and assistance to State Governments for organizing fairs and festivals,” the Union Minister said.
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