Emerging on India’s tourism circuit, Punjab has crossed country’s top tourist States—Himachal Pradesh and Goa — in domestic tourists visits.
As per the India Tourism Statistics-2012, the State have left behind the two States with domestic tourist visits to Punjab during the previous year as it was 68.8 per cent of the State population. The State Government authorities attribute the figures to the concrete steps taken by it to flourish tourism in the State.
“Punjab Government has taken concrete steps to flourish tourism in the State and results are visible from the Statistics of the India Tourism-2012,” said the state Cultural Affairs Minister Sarwan Singh Phillaur, adding that our tourist inflow is on rise.
“During the last four years, our domestic tourist visits increased from 54 lakhs in 2009 to 105 lakhs in 2010, to 164 lakhs in 2011, to 191 lakhs in 2012. The increase of the tourists in 2012 over 2011 has been recorded at 15 per cent. The foreign tourist visited during 2012 was 1.43 lakhs and is on increase in 2013,” he added.
The Minister said that the quick estimates for the year 2013, from January to June, 2013, revealed a big increase in both domestic tourist visits (111 lakhs) and the foreign tourist visits 1.08 lakhs) in the State.
Phillaur said that that the State Government’s policies or actions are stimulant to attract more tourists to the State by extending incentives under new Industrial Policy to the tourist sector. He said that tourism industry in Punjab has emerged as the second largest employment generator at national level in the State.
“To further enhance the tourism potential of the state, different stakeholders — sectors like hospitality, transport, aspiring artists, handloom and handicrafts etc — are given the boost by the State Government. Hotel projects, the main source of accommodation for the tourists in the State have been declared ‘Industry’ under the Industrial Policy,” he added.