A Northern Region Council (NRC) would be set up for tourism promotion in the North India. The Council would act as a coordinating body for laying down plans for tourism promotion in the Northern region of the country.
The Union Ministry of Tourism has decided to set up this Council. And, the senior functionaries of Chandigarh and Northern States of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir would be part of the council.
While talking to The Pioneer, Girish Shankar, Additional Secretary of Union Ministry of Tourism said, “A Northern Region Council (NRC) would be set up to ensure coordination between the six stakeholders in the Northern India for tourism promotion.”
He said, “The council would focus on enhancing the tourism infrastructure in the region and would work out plans for the same. We would also explore the possibilities of involving more States including Uttar Pradesh among others in this Council.”
“There are several issues like road connectivity, tourism services among others in the Northern States which needs to be discussed at a common platform to ensure tourism promotion. The NRC would act as a coordinating body to detail out such plans,” he added.
Meanwhile, on the issue of setting up of big tourism projects in Chandigarh, Shankar said, “We will see the possibilities of setting up big tourism projects like Amusement Park in the city. But, the UT Administration has to initiate the work for the same.”
It is pertinent to mention here that the UT Administration is brooding over to bring in a major tourism project on the outskirts of Chandigarh. The project aimed at positioning Chandigarh into the league of famous tourists’ destination is likely to be envisaged on the lines of amusement-cum-theme park, which was scrapped by the UT Administration in 2010.
The amusement park was conceived to have rides and games along with a mini water park, a mini-India model, a museum of wax figures etc.
At present, the city plays a pivotal role in promotion of transit tourism in this region as it is located on the tourism circuit comprising Delhi, Chandigarh, Shimla, Kullu and Manali.
The city is a gateway to the blessed land of Punjab, historical battlefields of Haryana, and breathtaking hills of Himachal Pradesh and picturesque valleys of Jammu and Kashmir.
As per the data with UT Tourism Department, Chandigarh witnessed 9,24,589 domestic tourists in 2012 and 2,24,796 in 2013 so far. The city also welcomed 34,130 foreign tourists in the year 2012 and in 2013, 9,539 foreign tourists have visited the city.