Days after Prime Minster Narendra Modi in his 'Mann ki baat' exhorted people to use their vacations to travel within India and promote domestic tourism, Union Tourism Ministry announced a mega 20-day event, 'Paryatan Parv' (Tourism Festival) from Wednesday to celebrate India as a tourism destination.
Talking to reporters here, KJ Alphons, Tourism Minister said that his Ministry in collaboration with various central ministries has planned a series of cultural events at various tourists hotspots across the country, drawing focus on the benefits of tourism, showcasing the cultural diversity of the country and reinforcing the principle of "Tourism for All".
All State governments as well as 18 central ministries would take part in the Tourism Festival to be held from the 5th to 25th October 201, showcasing folk and classical dance & music, handicrafts & handlooms and cuisine of the States of the country.
"We want to tell our countrymen that before going abroad, do try to find India. India has incredible hotspots which must be visited," the Minister said adding that the 'Parv' will be inaugurated at the Humayun's Tomb on Thursday.
During 2016, the number of domestic tourists visits (DTVs) to the States/ UTs was 1653 million (provisional) as compared to 1432 million in 2015 registering a growth of 15.5 per cent, as per the Government data.
The Tourism Ministry has invited people to share photos, stories, travelogues on Twitter about the festival. Two such tweets will be retweeted by the prime minister every day, the Minister said.
later, talking to select journalists, Alphons said that he favoured promoting nightlife culture as in Goa for entertainment purpose.
Suman Billa, Joint Secretary in the Tourism Ministry, said that the event will have three main components --Dekho Apna Desh, Tourism for All and Tourism and Governance.
While Dekho Apna Desh aims to encourage people to visit their own country encouraging them to join video, photograph and blog competitions of sites visited during the event, stories of India through travelers' eyes, quiz, essay, debate and painting competitions for students to promote travel to J&K and northeast States, the Tourism for All will comprise of various cultural activities like dance, music, theatre and exhibitions at various historical sites.
Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma talked about various initiatives undertaken by the Ministry to promote the sector in the country.