National helpline for safety of tourists in offing
A national helpline is on the anvil to address the safety and security concerns of tourists in the country, central Tourism Minister Kumari Selja announced here on Saturday.
Speaking at the inauguration of a regional conference of tourism ministers of western states and union territories here, Selja said that a slew of measures are needed to "ensure safety and security of tourists".
"I urge the distinguished participants present here to take all necessary steps to provide protection to tourists against crime and provide them with aid when in distress. We are working towards establishing a national tourist helpline. This will work in close cooperation with the states," Selja said.
The conference was attended by tourism ministers and officials from Goa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and a few union territories.
Expressing concern over the "safety and security" of tourists visiting India, the minister said: "News of any untoward incident travels quickly endangering the reputation of the country as a safe destination." "The inflow of domestic and foreign tourists could be ensured only in a safe and secure environment. Guidelines have been formulated for raising a tourist security organisation. However, we feel that a specialised agency to handle tourist safety should be in place," she said.
Selja, while advocating the concept of eco-tourism, also stressed on the importance of afforestation and better forest and environment management practices.
She was referring to the Rs.200 crore allocated to the Goa government by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in his latest budget speech "to preserve its natural resources by restoring its beaches that are prone to erosion and to increase its green cover through sustainable forestry".
Goa sidelined in 'Incredible India' ad campaign: Pacheco
Panaji, Mar 6 (PTI)
Goa tourism ministry on Saturday said that the Union Government has failed to give the state a rightful place in 'Incredible India' advertisement campaign.
State tourism Minister Fransisco Pacheco said that the Central ministry's campaign does not give proper representation to Goa in this ad campaign, conceived to publicise the destinations worldwide.
Addressing regional state tourism conference in presence of Union Tourism Minister Kumari Selja, Pacheco also said that the state is not given proper place even in the print and publicity material of Government of India.
"Goa being a prime tourist destination and receiving about 25 lakh tourists, out of it four lakh are foreigners, the state deserves better place," he said.
Pacheco urged the Union Minister to give the state a rightful place in the advertisement campaign by the ministry.
Goa tourism ministry also expressed its apprehensions about the Goods and Service tax, which is being proposed to be introduced by the Union Government.
"Since this tax will be uniform, it will effect the tourism industry in Goa and other places where the flow of tourists is highly seasonal, as there is no possibility in the relaxation in the tax during the slack season," Pacheco said.
