The tourism sector strongly feels that if the BJP comes to power in the current lok Sabha elections, tourism which had a huge revenue potential was likely to get a big boost that the current Government had failed to provide at the centre.
The tourism and travel agents sector is rooting for the Bhartiya Janata Party because of the aggressive tourism model of Gujarat which has created immense curiousity among the travellers to go and see what the hype in Gujarat is all about.
Many of the tour and travel agents aver that tourism to Gujarat has increased over the past few years with many tourists wanting to visit the place just to see for themselves what kind of development Narendra Modi has brought to the place.Chairman National Member Development Body IATA agents association Avi Ghosh speaking from Kanpur said that it was true that tourism to Gujarat has increased in the past few years.
“look at the way the advertisement with Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan was made and the tourists roped in with the hype created. The tourist to Gujarat has increased and many want to view the developments which Modi has brought about in his State. I personally know industrialists who have shifted base in Gujarat for the kind of environment provided for the industries. We are hoping that a change at the Centre will make the difference to over several lacs of people associated with the industry because the current Government has done absolutely nothing” he said.
Simmilarly, Kirti Srivastava who is heading a travel agency in lucknow that has a pan India presence said that they were mooting for a BJP Government for the way the Gujarat model of tourism has brought a large number of tourists to Gujarat.
“The number of tourists to Gujarat have increased over the past years and many of them are going there just to see what kind of developments Narendra Modi Government has brought in the State. The Government that comes in the centre makes a lot of difference to the Tourism sector through its policies and we want the BJP Government" said Kirti Srivastava.
Prateek Hira who is heading a travel agency in lucknow said that the tourism sector was abuzz with the prospects of a BJP Government.
“Bhartiya Janata Party has traditionally been associated with the good tourism always. Former Tourism Minister Jagmohan had brought Vaishno Devi to an international standard. If we look at the tourism in the country Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh Tourism has come up a big way apart from the traditional destinations like Rajasthan and Kerala. It is very important to have the right kind of policies in the Centre which work in the favour of tourism and bring places on the international map. The BJP can make the difference,” said Prateek Hira.
Naeem Khan who is also running and travel and tour company in lucknow declines to make any political statement but points out that a good Tourism Minister who takes interest in tourism can make a difference. “A good Tourism Minister at the Centre is the need of the hour whichever party comes in power because the current State is pathetic. In Uttar Pradesh, there is bad connectivity, bad infrastructure and bad roads. We faced such a lot of problem recently in bringing tourists from Varanasi to lucknow because of the connectivity problems. For increasing tourism these things are vital,” he said.