New Delhi, April 26 (IANS) State governments should develop tourism infrastructure through the public private partnership (PPP) mode to attract more investment to the sector, union Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahay said Monday.
Briefing the media here after a regional conference of tourism ministers of the northern and central states in Rishikesh last week, Sahay said since the state governments do not have "sufficient kitties to upgrade tourism, they should opt for the PPP mode and enlist the services of private consultants to oversee the projects".
The minister said he had also discussed the possibility of a single window clearance for 80-90 hotels in the states, modelled on the policy pursued by the central government.
He said the tourism goal of the country was to attract atleast "one percent of the global tourists" for which "hotels across the states would need at least 400,000-500,000 more rooms".
Tourism ministers from eight states attended the conference in Rishikesh, he said.
"I told the states that I would motivate private investors to invest and provide them with consultants from our panel if they came forward with good projects. It is a task to make state tourism more vibrant," Sahay said.
Sahay said tourism employed the largest number of people in the country. Quoting a Planning Commission finding, he said: "If you spend Rs.10 lakh on a destination, you can provide jobs to 78 people."
He said the prime minister was expected convene a special meeting on skill development April 28.
He said the country would welcome foreign direct investment in the tourism infrastructure sector.
Outlining his vision for tourism development, Sahay said he was planning to develop the Buddhist, Sufi, Jain and Sikhism tourism circuits.
Commenting on his state Jharkhand, Sahay said: "Tourism in Jharkhand has been a non-starter for the last 10 years. The money given to them for a project in 2004 has not been used till today. It is in a mess."
The minister said the government would promote tourism in south Asia, especially in the Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh regions, with more people-to-people contacts.
"India's tourism sector is witnessing an encouraging growth, with foreign tourist arrivals at 5.58 million in 2010," Sahay said.