National flags are to be installed at tourist places across country, says G Kishan Reddy

Dharamshala: National flags are to be installed at tourist places now across the country. Tourism minister G. Kishan Reddy announced this on Tuesday while addressing the valedictory session of the National Conference of State Tourism Ministers at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh. He also appealed to the states and stakeholders to install flags at all hotels and tourist places.

Tourism ministers of 12 states including Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Haryana, Mizoram, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh attended the three-day long conference. Amplifying the tourism sector, the central minister urged that all states share and adopt best practices. "States must organise such conferences at the state level with district officers of different departments and stakeholders to improve and promote tourism destinations. Reddy emphasised the importance of Yuva Tourism Clubs and said these clubs can become a game changer for the sector," Reddy emphasised.

Meanwhile, the National Tourism Policy has been drafted to revive the country's tourism sector and targets to achieve USD 1 trillion in the sector in 2047. Secretary Tourism Arvind Singh said while addressing the conference, "India will play a pivotal role in contributing towards global tourism recovery driven mainly through domestic tourism. All the major tourism indices have started showing signs of recovery towards the pre-pandemic levels such as domestic air passenger traffic, hotel occupancy and tourist footfalls."

The senior official also informed that the ministry is also paving the way for developing responsible and sustainable tourism destinations. The government at the centre will continue to support MSMEs in tourism and capitalise on the employment generation potential in the sector. Various initiatives under the ongoing schemes of the tourism ministry are planned to be strengthened to ensure a complete recovery from the disruption caused to the tourism economy due to the pandemic.

Tourism Secretary also stressed that India plans to position itself as a major tourism destination during its presidency of G20 for 2023. "We plan to ensure due rigour, and dedication and showcase our cultural richness while welcoming the world to our nation. We plan to bring in necessary interventions including Visa Reforms, Ease of Travel, traveller friendly Immigration Facilities at Airports and openness to international travel and these major topics were deliberated during the two-day meet," Singh added.

The country is estimated to achieve 50 billion USD GDP contribution from tourism, 30 billion USD in Foreign Exchange Earnings and 15 million foreign arrivals by 2024. Moreover, India is estimated to grow at a 7-9 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the coming decade and 250 billion USD GDP contribution from Tourism, 137 million jobs in the

Tourism sector, 56 billion USD in Foreign Exchange Earnings and 25 Million foreign arrivals are expected to be achieved by 2030.

"We commit to deliver plans aligned with these goals and commitments to ensure positioning of India as one of the leaders in the tourism sector by 2047," the official asserted.