Jaitley blasts Congress for ignoring tourism

NewsGram Staff Writer

New Delhi: Coming down heavily on the erstwhile Congress-led UPA government for ignoring the tourism industry, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stressed on the need to formulate policies for rejuvenating the sector.

"I regret to say that earlier governments didn't make policies which could have increased tourism in the country. In fact, they framed such policies that made the tourism sector weak," Jaitley said after laying the foundation stone of a new building of the tourism ministry.

Despite India having the potential to lure tourists, policies are needed to improve the industry in the future, said Jaitley.

Mentioning that India boasts of the longest sea shore, huge forests, religious places and culture, to attract tourists, he emphasized on the need to build more infrastructure, especially airports. "India should increase its airline capacity from 5 to 10 per cent to cater to more foreign tourist in the country," he added.

Highlighting the role of states, Jaitley said for creating strong tourism infrastructure, it was important to take the help of states.

"The new Paryatan Bhawan will now provide a base for working on all aspects of tourism and increasing the potential of tourism in India," he said.

Union Minister of State for Tourism Mahesh Sharma said, "the government fully understands the importance of tourism. It is possible for people to discover the cultures of different countries and cultivate respect for them via the medium of tourism,"

"Tourism is the engine of economic growth and we need to increase India's share in world tourism from 0.68 to 1 percent by 2020 to realize the full potential of this sector. Tourism helps in women empowerment and youth employment," he added.

Sharma also said that naming the new office complex of the tourism ministry after Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay was a real tribute to the visionary leader who talked about integral humanism.

Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhayay Paryatan Bhawan is a tourism ministry project housing a multi-level car parking-cum-office complex.

"The new building will have three storeys apart from the ground floor and two basements meant for stacked car parking. The project is estimated to cost around Rs 150 crore," an official release said.

(With inputs from IANS)