The Union Tourism Ministry has drawn up a plan to attract five million more tourists to the country during the next five years (12th Plan period), according to Mr Subodh Kant Sahay, Union Minister for Tourism.
He was speaking at a conference on tourism promotion here on Saturday. He said the Planning Commission had identified tourism as one of the important sectors for job generation and poverty alleviation during the 12th Plan period.
“The Government, whether it is the Centre or the States, will invest on development of infrastructure and the private sector has to come in for revenue-generating schemes. This business model we are following and I advise the AP (Andhra Pradesh) Tourism Ministry to follow the same model,” he said.
The Minister said at least four lakh more hotel rooms would be needed in the country and, especially, more budget hotels would have to come up in the private sector. In Andhra Pradesh, he said, the Visakhapatnam region and the Krishna-Godavari region were ideal for promoting tourism.
“We will give you the required funds for tourism infrastructure. But you have to appoint an international consultant, prepare a proper report and go about it in an integrated manner. Visakhapatnam has everything [required] to be developed as an international tourist destination. It is not a political statement I am making. I mean it,” Mr Sahay said.
He said he would strive to get international flights to Visakhapatnam, as air connectivity was of the utmost importance. Steps would also be taken to develop Vishakhapatnam as a Buddhist tourist circuit and to promote cruise tourism here, he promised.