A National Tourism Policy (NTP) was formulated in 2002. However, taking into account the widespread, interrelated global developments and advancements, which have had a strong bearing on the Tourism sector, a new draft National Tourism Policy has been formulated and the same is yet to be approved.
Some of the salient features of the new draft National Tourism Policy include:
• Focus of the Policy on employment generation and community participation in tourism development.
• Stress on development of tourism in a sustainable and responsible manner.
• An all-encompassing Policy involving linkages with various Ministries, Departments, States/Union Territories and Stakeholders.
• The Policy enshrines the vision of developing and positioning India as a “MUST EXPERIENCE” and “MUST RE-VISIT” Destination for global travellers, whilst encouraging Indians to explore their own country.
• Development and promotion of varied tourism products including the rich Culture and Heritage of the country, as well as niche products such as Medical &Wellness, Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE), Adventure, Wildlife, etc.
• Development of core infrastructure (airways, railways, roadways, waterways, etc.) as well as Tourism Infrastructure.
• Developing quality human resources in the tourism and hospitality sectors across the spectrum of vocational to professional skills development and opportunity creation.
• Creating an enabling environment for investment in tourism and tourism-related infrastructure.
• Emphasis on technology enabled development in tourism.
• Focus on domestic tourism as a major driver of tourism growth.
• Focus on promotions in established source markets and potential markets, which are contributing significantly to global tourist traffic, with targeted and country specific campaigns.
• Emphasis on Tourism as the fulcrum of multi-sectoral activities and dovetailing of activities of the Ministry with important/flagship schemes of the Government of India.
This information was given by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Tourism and Culture (Independent Charge) in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
