DEVELOPING BEACH & COASTAL TOURISM

New Delhi, 4 November 2006

A number of steps for the development of beach and coastal tourism have been taken by the Union Ministry of Tourism and Culture. Several sites on the West Coast have been identified for the development as beach resorts by the private sector.

The sites on the beaches of Goa, Kerala and North Karnataka were taken up because of their easier access by air. Kochi in Kerala and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were developed as international cruise destinations because of their proximity to international cruise routes and their exotic appeal.

The Minister for Tourism and Culture, Ambika Soni has stated that Rural tourism is being promoted as the primary tourism product of India to showcase rural, art, culture and heritage at rural locates and in villages which have core competence in terms of crafts/handlooms/textiles/culture, etc. to tourists, thereby also spreading tourism and its socio-economic benefits to rural areas.

Steps have also been taken to promote wildlife tourism, adventure tourism, MICE (Meetings, conventions and Exhibition) tourism.  In this context, the Minister underlined the importance of developing world class international convention centres not just for the sake of tourism development but also for international domestic trade and commerce and added that presently, Delhi, Mumbai, Agra, Bangalore, Cochin, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Kolkata are being promoted as MICE destinations in India but facilities available today are not enough.

Mrs. Soni underlined that India’s most unique tourism product in the last five years has been holistic healing and rejuvenation packages. She added that in focussing on this, the essence of Indian culture has been captured both for international and Indian visitors alike. Kerala, Karnataka and Uttaranchal have taken up Ayurveda and traditional techniques of healing as also rejuvenation therapy in a big way.

The Minister has also underlined the need for physical infrastructure for tourism which ranges from ports of entry to modes of transport (airways, roadway, railways or waterways), to urban infrastructure such as access roads, power, water supply, sewerage and telecommunication.

This underscores the need for inter-sectoral convergence of infrastructural schemes and programmes that could support tourist destinations, she underlined. 

For effective marketing of India tourism, a number of new initiatives have been taken in the last few years.  These include direct approach to the consumers through electronic and print media, cooperative marketing with the tour operators and wholesalers overseas. 

The Ministry is also encouraging participation in travel marts like ITB, WTM, ATM, PATA etc. for promotion of India s a preferred tourist destination.  These activities are in addition to the regular activities, undertaken by the overseas offices. A greater focus is being attached to the regions of China, North East Asia and South East.

NEW BRIDGE ACROSS KRISHNA

HYDERABAD, November 5 (INFA): Andhra Pradesh will build a new bridge across the backwaters of the river Krishna, connecting Mahaboobnagar and Kurnool districts between Kollapur and Kothapalli.

The proposed bridge will reduce the distance between the two districts by 70 km.  A detailed project report has been prepared and submitted to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development for a financial assistance of Rs.89 crore under the Rural Infrastructure Development Funds. ----INFA