Uttarakhand will showcase its tourism potential to attract more national and international tourists in the upcoming CII Tourism Fest from December 5 to 7 at Parade Ground, Chandigarh. The fest, which is being organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), is aimed at accelerating growth in the international tourism sector and to create and establish roadmap for inclusive and seamless tourism across the region, nation and globe.
According to the CII, the event will be first of its kind with both national and international participation. The fest aims to unleash the latent potential of the tourism sector and is expected to turn the economy around and boost tourism at regional, State and global level. It would also have concurrent activities like International Dance Festival and International Chef Meet. 11 other States including Punjab, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi are also participating in this fest.
The event will also have international flavour with participation of eight countries including China, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Philippines, Dubai, Thailand, Indonesia and Turkey.
“Tourism sector contributes around 25 per cent to our State’s GDP and the recent calamity has led to a loss of Rs 12,000 crore — 11 per cent of the State’s GDP. Fear psychosis is the main reason for the loss arising due to lack of occupancy which we need to remove at the earliest. We would also aggressively showcase our strengths through CII tourism fest and promote Uttarakhand as a tourist destination to domestic and overseas delegations of tour and travel operators, hospitality agencies and other stakeholders. The event will help us regain the tourist inflow back in the State,” said additional secretary, Tourism, Uttarakhand, Sachin Kurve.
“Envisioned to contribute to the overall GDP growth, CII Tourism Fest would aim to showcase India as a global tourist destination by creating synergies between various stakeholders, creating enabling policies and desired infrastructure and attracting investments in the tourism and hospitality sector,” said CII Tourism Fest 2013 chairman and Managing Director of le Passage to India, Arjun Sharma.
“It would be a first of its kind initiative, primarily aimed at creating awareness about the scope of rural tourism, destination management, image building and cinematic tourism in the region because of its beautiful and scenic landscapes,” he added.