Prez presents National Tourism Awards
President Pratibha Devisingh Patil gave away the tourism awards for the year 2010-11 in the national capital on Wednesday.
This year the ministry has introduced two new categories of awards- 'Best Heritage City' and 'Best Heritage Walk'.
Speaking on the occasion, she said that India's rich cultural
heritage and natural beauty endows it with tremendous potential for
tourism.
The president remarked that the tourism sector can be a major driver for economic growth and development of the country.
She also pointed out that the sector has a huge job potential and can
provide work opportunity to both skilled and semi skilled workers.
Advocating the need for "responsible tourism", President Pratibha
Patil today said tourists have to be handled in accordance with the
country's cultural tradition and environment.
She said tourism also entails regular conservation efforts, so that heritage sites are well preserved and maintained.
"Tourism needs to be responsible which means that the foot prints of
tourists have to be handled in a manner that respects cultural
traditions and protects fragile eco-systems," Patil said while giving
away national tourism awards here.
Tourism Ministry presents national tourism awards to various segments
of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry every year.
Highlighting the importance of tourism, she said it is an important
element of promoting understanding between peoples and about different
cultures.
"It promotes people-to-people contacts. Tourism in fact, is one of the windows of the country to outside world".
"Our efforts, therefore, must not be only to give travellers an idea of what the country is but also what it is capable of."
Referring to the Internet and microblogging sites, she asked the
tourism industry to explore how new technology can be used to generate
great interest amongst people and to encourage them to travel.
"Tourism has greatly benefited from new technologies. E-tickets and
e-bookings have made it more convenient for international travellers.
Visitors are now sharing their experiences on new social media
platforms, creating perceptions about the place that they have visited,"
Patil said.
Taking note of the tourism sector's contribution to economy, the
President said, "It is a sector which contributes significantly to the
GDP. The great advantage of the tourism sector lies in its capacity to
generate employment for not only specialised managerial and hospitality
skills but it also provides livelihood opportunities for other skilled
and semi-skilled personnel".
"Tourism generates many more jobs for relatively less investment unlike several other sectors," he said.
Referring to the tourist arrivals in other countries Patil said,
"There are countries like France and Spain where annual foreign tourist
arrivals are higher that their local populations."
Describing India's tourism potential as "immense", she said, "The
World Travel and Tourism Council has ranked India as a tourism hot-spot
with a very high growth possibility in the coming years."
Referring to the ministry's Atithi Devo Bhava campaign, she said in India it is ingrained in our culture.
However, she said in order to ensure sustained growth in tourism sector, an adequate infrastructure is needed.
"Five-star hotels are preferred by the high end tourist but there is a
growing middle class that is now travelling. They look for good and
clean accommodation and affordable rates," she said.
She asked the hotel industry to look at the needs and requirements of different types of visitors and ensure quality services.
Lauding the initiatives of the ministry, Patil said efforts are
underway to increase India's share of world tourist arrivals to 1 per
cent by the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan.
Currently, India's share of world tourist arrivals is 0.6 per cent.
The Ministry has set a target of 11 million of foreign tourist
arrivals by 2016 from 5.78 million in 2010 and 1.49 billion domestic
tourists from the present level of 740 million.
"To achieve the targets, naturally a multi-pronged approach would be
necessary to ensure that the experience of the tourist is pleasant,
hassle-free and enriching one," she said.
She also stressed on proper connectivity through railways, air and
highways as essential as accommodation facilities which cater to various
budgets.
Describing India's tourism potential as "immense" she said, "It is a
country with many exquisite locations, a diverse culture with many
colourful festivals and a rich variety of traditional arts and crafts,
food and customs."
